The role of Situation Awareness in Synchromodal Corridor Management: A simulation gaming perspective

Synchromodal transport has the potential to offer flexible, reliable, cost-effective and sustainable freight transportation by enabling real-time switching between transport modes. Given the numerous stakeholders and network interdependencies within freight transport corridors, achieving efficient coordination and management is complex. Multiple stakeholders need to make consistent decisions under dynamic and time-pressed operational situations. Such situations request efficient information sharing, role awareness, optimization of services and assets in freight transport corridors. Situation Awareness (SA) has been proven as essential prerequisite for decision-making under dynamic operational situations. In this research, we aim to explore the decision choices and behavior of stakeholders related to synchromodal corridor management at various levels of SA. For this purpose, we developed a simulation game called ‘Modal Manager’ comprising logistic service providers and infrastructure managers. The participants of the game take over the role of infrastructure managers. They have to cooperate to solve several disruptions and incidents in a flexible way ensuring the time-efficient and reliable transportation of containers while maintaining the optimal utilization of the network. Our research study around the game includes a session consisting of briefing, game play and debriefing with transport professionals in the private and public sector in the Netherlands. The game results are expected to shed light on decision-making, information sharing strategies and interventions made by infrastructure managers for efficient synchromodal corridor management.