Travel time unreliability on critical infrastructure: The impact on freight transport

This research analyses the consequences of delays caused by unforeseeable events such as accidents, snowstorms and floods for freight transport on critical infrastructure. An example of critical infrastructure is the Limfjord Tunnel in Aalborg, which forms the basis for the case-study in the research. The results are: First, the risk of experiencing delays causes logistics companies to invest before the events occur. Second, delays can spread geographically downstream in the logistics operation to trucks and freight, which was not near the event. Third, delays can increase in time downstream in logistics operations. Fourth, trucks on adjacent roads to the critical infrastructure can also be delayed. Fifth, significantly more research is needed before it is possible to quantify the costs of events for logistics operations on critical infrastructure. Sixth, Danish infrastructure analyses currently underestimate the costs of unforeseeable events for freight transport.