A Bilevel Model for Network Design and Pricing Based on a Level-of-Service Assessment

Within a wide view to stimulate intermodal transport, this paper is devoted to the examination of the intrinsically related problems of designing freight carrying services and determining their associated prices as observed by the shipper firms. A path-based multicommodity formulation is developed for a medium-term planning horizon, from the perspective of an intermodal operator. In the quest of incorporating nonprice attributes, two approaches are proposed to depict a realistic assessment of the service quality. First, frequency delay constraints are added to the upper-level problem. Second, based on a random utility model, behavioral concepts are integrated in the expression of the lower level as a logistics costs minimization problem. Exact tests are invoked on real-world instances, demonstrating the capability of the presented approaches of reaching reasonable results within acceptable computation times and optimality gaps. The broader level-of-service perspective imposes additional costs on the service providers, although to a lesser extent on long-distance freight corridors, as indicated by the computed market share and net profit. Further experiments are conducted to test the impact of certain transport management instruments (e.g., subsidies and service capacities) on the modal split, as well as to assess the intermodality’s future based on a scenario analysis methodology.