Container depot location problem in the frame of the Polish part of the New Silk Road

Abstract

The Chinese project One Belt One Road, in Europe often referred to as the New Silk Road, triggers infrastructural investments enabling seamless transportation of goods on the Eurasian route. Since most of these goods are transported in containers, the optimal location of inland container depots, where containers wait for future repositioning after they had been emptied at the importers, is an interesting problem. In this paper conditions determining the optimal location of inland container depots in the Polish part of the NSR are analysed. They include proximity of container transhipment terminals located on the Polish stretch of the NSR, structure of highway network enabling distribution of containers by trucks to other destinations, as well as green aspects mainly referring to avoidance of city congestion caused by trucks transporting containers.