The volume of international trade and freight transport in Asia has witnessed fast growth in recent decades. The resulting environmental impact of freight transport operations has become a major cause of concern. Intermodal transport has gained prominence recently due to its potential to offer door-to-door service through the integration of various modes of transport in the logistics chain, improved coordination and services, and the development of intermodal interfaces. However, few studies have focused on this development in Asia.The development of intermodal transport requires transport links, nodes, and services. The development of dry ports, an important component of intermodal transport, could play a major role in promoting intermodal transport in Asia, including its twelve landlocked countries. Dry ports located in deep inland areas, as opposed to near the sea, would incorporate customs and other related facilities and rail links, as well as provide for transfer, transshipment, and distribution functions for cargo. By encouraging a modal shift, such dry ports would help to ease road traffic congestion and reduce emissions.This study reviews the status of intermodal freight transport in Asia from an environmental perspective. It examines intermodal transport opportunities presented by the development of inland dry ports in hinterland locations. This paper also reviews selected case studies of dry port development in Asia. Finally, we present the lessons to be learned for the promotion of intermodal freight transport from selected Asian countries as well as the policy options available

This study analyzes the modal shift from road to rail transport and resulting CO₂ emissions along the Laem Chabang Port–Thanaleng corridor. A stated preference experiment is conducted to obtain feedback from freight forwarders, and a mode choice model is developed to estimate the freight mode share offered by the development of a dry port. A bottom-up approach is used to assess CO₂ emissions from freight transport operations. The results show that in the base-case scenario, a 43% mode shift to rail from road and a 30% reduction in CO₂ emissions can be expected compared with the business-as-usual scenario.

There have been many efforts to improve intermodal transport connectivity in South-East Asia. Strategic location of logistics centres can facilitate transportation, handling, storage and transshipment of goods moving in international trade. This paper considers various evaluation criteria for location analysis of logistics centres. The paper utilises the analytic hierarchy process and goal programming methodologies to analyse location of logistics centres in Laos, which aims to transform itself into a land-linked country from a land-locked country. Location models are developed based on primary data collected from public and private sector transport stakeholders. The results show similarity in final priority ranking of planned logistics centres. Also, the outcomes of both methodologies are consistent. However, some differences on the weights of the evaluation criteria were noted for the public sector, private sector and combined models. Finally, some policy considerations are offered for development of logistics centres and seamless flow of intermodal freight transport.