Smulation of a container transport system between port and inland terminal depots

This document describes the development of a simulation of an automated container transport system that connects a harbour terminal and an inland depot with dedicated railways. The simulation has been developed as part of the European project ASAPPOne (Intelligent Shuttle Fleet Connecting Split Sea And Inland Container Storage Areas), of which IKERLAN is a partner. The aim of the ASAPPOne project is the automation of container transport tasks between container terminals (front/end areas). It consists of a fleet of shuttles, which run in convoy mode on train rail tracks along the connecting path and autonomously on a flat surface of coated concrete in the front/end areas. A Traffic Control System (TCS) receives container transport commands from a Host Computer and calculates the route for each shuttle inside the terminal. Along the railway. a Line Management System (LMS) calculates the route for each convoy of shuttles. In order to test and refine the Traffic Controller and the Line Management System, a simulation of all the elements that interact with it (cranes, shuttles, crossing controllers, swap areas, Host Computer) has been designed and developed.