GEOG 80 – Transport GeographyProfessor: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue

Topic 4 – Transportation Terminals

A. The Function of Transport TerminalsB. Ports and Rail TerminalsC. Airport TerminalsD. Terminals and Security

A – The Function of Transport Terminals

■ 1. The Nature of Transport Terminals■ 2. Passengers Terminals■ 3. Freight Terminals■ 4. Terminal Costs

1. The Nature of Transport Terminals

■ Concept• All spatial flows, with the exception of personal vehicular and

pedestrian trips, involve movements between terminals.• Modes assembly and distribution:

• Cannot travel individually, but in batches.• People have to go to bus terminals and airports first to reach their final

destinations.• Freight has to be consolidated at a port or a rail yard before onward

shipment.• Terminals are essential links in transportation chains.

1. The Nature of Transport Terminals

■ Definition• Any location where freight and passengers either originates,

terminates, or is handled in the transportation process.• Central and intermediate locations:

• Points of interchange within the same modal system.• Insure a continuity of the flows.• Particularly the case for modern air and port operations.

• Require specific facilities to accommodate the traffic they handle.• Points of interchange: within the same mode.• Points of transfer: between modes.

1. The Nature of Transport Terminals

■ Location• Serve a large concentration of population and/or industrial

activities.• Specific terminals have specific locational constraints.• New transport terminals tend to be located outside central areas

to avoid high land costs and congestion.■ Convergence

• Obligatory points of passage.• Invested on their geographical location which is generally

intermediate to commercial flows.• Created by the centrality or the intermediacy of their respective

locations.

1. The Nature of Transport Terminals

■ Accessibility• Accessibility to other terminals (at the local, regional and global

scale).• How well the terminal is linked to the regional transport system.

■ Infrastructure• Handle and transship freight or passengers.• Must accommodate current traffic and anticipate future trends.• Modern terminal infrastructures consequently require massive

investments.

The Function of Transport Terminals

Location

Infrastructures

Accessibility

LocalRegional

Global

2. Passengers Terminals

■ Overview• Passenger terminals require relatively little specific equipment.• Simple structures.• Basic amenities (waiting areas, ticket counters, food services).

■ Airports• Are the exception.• The most complex terminals.• Passengers may spend several hours in the terminal.• Transiting, check-in and security checks, baggage pick up and

customs and immigration on international arrivals.• Wide range of services.• Provide the very specific needs of the aircraft.

Chek Lap Kok Air Terminal, Main Concourse, Hong Kong, China

3. Freight Terminals

■ Specialized entities• Specific loading and unloading equipment.• Wide range of handling gear is required.• Differentiated functionally both by the mode involved and the

commodities transferred.■ Distinction by two major types of cargo

• Bulk:• Goods that are handled in large quantities, that are unpackaged and are

available in uniform dimensions.• Liquid bulk goods: Pumps to move the product along hoses and pipes;

limited handling equipment is needed, but significant storage facilities may be required.

• Dry bulk: wide range of products, such as ores, coal and cereals; handling equipment is required; utilize specialized grabs and cranes and conveyer-belt systems.

3. Freight Terminals

• General cargo:• Goods that are of many shapes, dimensions and weights such as

machinery and parts.• Because the goods are so uneven and irregular, handling is difficult to

mechanize.• General cargo handling usually requires a lot of manpower.

■ Warehousing• Assembling the individual bundles of goods:

• Time-consuming and storage may be required.• Need for terminals to be equipped with specialized

infrastructures:• Grain silos, storage tanks, and refrigerated warehouses, or simply space

to stockpile.

Hong Kong International Distribution Center

4. Terminal Costs

■ Terminal costs• An important component of transport costs.• Infrastructure costs:

• Construction and maintenance costs.• Facilities such as piers, runways, cranes and structures.

• Transshipment costs:• Composing, handling and decomposing passengers or freight.• Labor requirement of terminal facilities.

• Administration costs:• Managed by institutions such as port or airport authorities or by private

companies.

Distance

RoadRail

Maritime

C1 C2

C3

Terminal Costs

T1

T2

T3

Cost

B – Ports and Rail Terminals

■ 1. Port Sites■ 2. Port Functions■ 3. Rail Terminals

1. Port Sites

■ Ports• Convergence between two domains of freight circulation:

• Land and maritime domains.• Facilitates convergence between land transport and maritime systems.

• Handle the largest amounts of freight, more than any other types of terminals combined.

• Infrastructures to accommodate transshipment activities.• Administration:

• Submitted to authorities.• Regulating infrastructure investments, its organization and development

and its relationships with customers using its services.

Port Sites

In a delta Margin of a delta Along a river Natural harbors

In an estuary Near an estuary In a bay Protected

1. Port Sites

■ Port sites• Maritime access:

• Physical capacity of the site to accommodate ship operations.• Tidal range: difference between the high and low tide. Ship operations

cannot handle variations of more than 3 meters.• Channel and berth depths: very important to accommodate modern cargo

ships.• Panamax ship (65,000 deadweight tons) requires more than 12 meters

(40 feet) of depth.• Many port sites are unable to handle modern maritime access.

• Maritime interface:• Amount of space that is available to support maritime access.• Related to the amount of shoreline.• Guarantee its future development and expansion.

1. Port Sites

• Infrastructures:• Must have infrastructures such as piers, cranes and warehouses.• Infrastructures consume land which must be available to insure port

expansion.• Land access:

• Access from the port to industrial complexes and markets.• Requires efficient inland distribution systems, such as fluvial, rail (mainly

for containers) and road transportation.

Post Panamax Containership at the Port of Le Havre

Basic Constraints of Port Sites

Maritime Space

Land Space

Infrastructures

Port

Land Access

Maritime Access

Interface

Harbor Types

Coastal Natural Coastal Breakwater

Coastal Tide Gates River Natural

River Basins River Tide Gates

Canal or Lake Open Roadstead

Number of Large and Medium Ports by Channel Depth

33

5

4

4

10

6

16

47

71

76

76

36

16

11

8

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

76 and over

71 to 75

66 to 70

61 to 65

56 to 60

51 to 55

45 to 50

41 to 45

36 to 40

31 to 35

26 to 30

21 to 25

16 to 20

11 to 15

6 to 10

Cha

nnel

Dep

th (F

eet)

Number of Ports

The American Waterway System

Control Depth

Less than 6 feet

6 to 20 feet

20 to 45 feet

45 to 75 feet

More than 75 feet

Channel Depth at Selected North American Ports, 1998 (in feet)

76

60

50

50

46

42

42

40

40

38

0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175

Seattle

Long Beach

Halifax

Hampton Roads

Baltimore

Los Angeles

Oakland

Savannah

New York

Charleston

Jacksonville

1998

Phase I (2003)

Phase II (2009)

1. Port Sites

■ Port development• Setting:

• Dependent on geographical considerations.• Furthest point of inland navigation by sailships.• Fishing port with trading and shipbuilding activities.• Simple terminal facilities.• Warehousing and wholesaling, adjacent to the port.

• Expansion:• The industrial revolution triggered several changes on port activities.• Quays were expanded and jetties were constructed to handle the growing

amounts of freight and passengers as well as larger ships).• Shipbuilding became an activity that required the construction of docks.• Integration of rail lines with port terminals.• Port-related activities expanded to include industrial activities.• Expansion mainly occurred downstream.

1. Port Sites

• Specialization:• Construction of specialized piers to handle freight such as containers,

ores, grain, petroleum and coal.• Expansion of warehousing needs.• Larger high-capacity ships often required dredging or the construction of

long jetties granting access to greater depths.• Downstream migration.• Original port sites became obsolete and were abandoned.• Reconversion opportunities of port facilities to other uses (waterfront

parks, housing and commercial developments).

The Evolution of a Port

Setting Expansion Specialization

1 2

2

34

4

44

4

5

Downtown

Urban expansion

Terminal facilities

Port-related activities

RailHighwayWater depth Reconversion

3

Evolution of the Port of Rotterdam

Den Haag

Rotterdam

VlaardingenSchiedam

DelftDelft

LeidenLeiden

ZoetermeerZoetermeer

SpijkenisseSpijkenisse

Oud-BeijerlandOud-Beijerland

WassenaarWassenaar

NaaldwijkNaaldwijk

PijnackerPijnacker

HellevoetsluisHellevoetsluis

HoogvlietHoogvliet

MaassluisMaassluis

BarendrechtBarendrecht

's-Gravenzande's-Gravenzande

VoorschotenVoorschoten

Krimpen aan den IJsselKrimpen aan den IJssel

Capelle aan den IJsselCapelle aan den IJssel

France

GermanyBelgium

NetherlandsUnited Kingdom

Luxembourg

Rhine

0 3 6 9 121.5Miles

Development Phases

1400 - 1800

1800 - 1900

1920 - 1940

1946 - 1960

1960 - 1970

1970 - 2000

2. Port Functions

■ Main functions• Supply services to freight (warehousing, transshipment, etc.).• Supply services to ships (piers, refueling, repairs, etc.).• Concomitantly a maritime and land terminal. • Regional in their dynamics.• Hong Kong:

• Natural site.• Geographical position of a transit harbor for southern China.

• Singapore:• Outlet of the strategic Strait of Malacca.• Convergence of Southeast Asian transportation.

• New York:• Gateway of the North American Midwest.• Hudson / Erie canal system.

Infrastructure

Serv

ices

tosh

ips

Services tom

erchandises

Regionalport

Main port

FDC

Regionalport

FDC

Main port

Hinterland Fo

rela

nd

Export activity

Import activity

Rail transport

FDC

Road transport

Freight distribution center

Maritimetransport

Port Functions

Maritime Space Land Space

2. Port Functions

■ Port activities• About 4,600 ports in are in operation worldwide.• Less than one hundred ports have a global importance.• High level of concentration in a limited number of large ports.• Linked to maritime access and infrastructure development.• Gateways of continental distribution systems.• Containerization has substantially changed port dynamics.

■ Port types• Monofunctionnal ports:

• Transit a limited array of commodities, most often dry or liquid bulks.• Specialized piers.

• Polyfunctionnal ports:• Several transshipment and industrial activities are present. • Variety of specialized and general cargo piers.

Throughput of the World’s Major Ports, 1997-2000 (in millions of metric tons)

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

Rotterdam

Singapore

Shanghai

Hong Kong

Nagoya

Antwerp

Pusan

Yokohama

Marseilles

Hamburg 1997

2000

Container Traffic of the World 15 Largest Ports, 2003

0 5,000,000 10,000,000 15,000,000 20,000,000 25,000,000

Hong Kong

Singapore

Shanghai

Shenzhen

Busan

Kaohsiung

Los Angeles

Rotterdam

Hamburg

Antwerp

Dubai

Port Kalang

Long Beach

Quingdao

New York/New Jersey

Traffic at Major North American Container Ports, 2003

Tampa

Ponce

Tacoma

Mobile

Fraser

BostonAlbany

Tampico

Toronto

Seattle

Oakland

Manatee

Hueneme

Houston

Halifax

Everett

Mazatlan

Ensenada

Veracruz

ProgresoAltamira

Savannah

Montreal

Gulfport

Freeport

San Diego

Galveston Canaveral

Baltimore

Manzanillo

St. John's

Saint John

Miami (FY)

Long Beach

Fernandina

Charleston

Salina Cruz

Los Angeles

Richmond(VA)

Portland(OR)

Portland(ME)

Philadelphia

San Juan (FY)

San Francisco

Hampton Roads

Puerto Morelos

Wilmington(NC)

Wilmington(DE)

Vancouver (BC)

Lazaro Cardenas

Palm Beach (FY)

Jacksonville (FY)

New York/New Jersey

Port Everglades (FY)

TEU (2003)

Less than 100,000

100,000 to 300,000

300,000 to 1 million

1 million to 2 million

More than 2 million

2. Port Functions

■ Problems related to port infrastructures• Ports along rivers are continuously facing dredging problems.• Width of rivers is strongly limiting capacity:

• Rarely a port along a river has the capacity to handle Post Panamax ships.

• Lateral spread of infrastructures (Seaports).• Congestion in central areas.• Port / city competition for land (waterfront development).

3. Rail Terminals

■ Location• Not as space-extensive as airports and ports.• Suffer less from site constraints:

• Many established prior to the Second World War.• Cities were more compact and land acquisition was easier.

• Passengers and freight terminals:• Different locations.

• Central railway stations:• Feature of most cities and tend to be located in downtown areas.• Key elements of urban centrality and activity.

• Freight rail stations:• Consume more space.• Tend to be located at the periphery.• Older yards tend to be located at the margin of CBDs.

Centraal Train Station, Amsterdam

TGV Train at Gare de Lyon, Paris, France

Quai d'Orsay Museum, Paris, France

C – Airport Terminals

■ 1. Airport Sites■ 2. Airport Functions

1. Airport Sites

■ Concept• Airports act as the main technical support of air transport.• Increased pressures on terminals:

• Existing terminals have been expanded and new terminals have been constructed.

• Replace airports no longer able to cope with the increased traffic.• International / Regional:

• Role and function in the international and regional urban system.• Centrality (being an origin and destination of air traffic) and intermediacy

(a hub or a gateway between destinations).• Local:

• Level of accessibility of the airport over the metropolitan area it services.• Daily flows of planes, passengers, freight to and from the airport's

terminals.

Geographical Scales of Airport Location

International / Regional

Local

1. Airport Sites

■ Local site requirements.• Airfields:

• Runways and parking areas.• Long enough to accommodate the takeoff and landing of commercial

planes.• About 3,300 meters (10,000 feet) are required for a 747 to takeoff.• Slope (less 1%), altitude and meteorological conditions.• About 32 movements (landings and takeoffs) per hour are possible on a

commercial runway under optimal conditions.• Terminals:

• Freight and passenger transit infrastructures.• Infrastructures for plane accommodation.• Linked with local transport systems.

Air Terminals

Terminal Isle

Terminal

Shuttles

1 2 3

Airfield

Airport Location Factors

Benefits Externalities Suitability

High

Low

City Center

High

Low

Commuting radius

High

Low

Location Ring

1. Airport Sites

■ Land requirements• Land required by modern airport operations is considerable:

• Landing and take off of planes.• Buffer between the adjacent urban areas to limit the noise generated.• Parking areas in airports located in car dependent cities.

• Peripheral sites:• Sufficient quantities of land available.• The more recently an airport was constructed, the more likely this airport

is to be located far from the city center.• Expansion and relocation:

• Extremely difficult.• Most airports have grown at locations chosen in the 1950s and 1960s.• Most airports are now surrounded.• Only sites available are far from the urban core.

Site of the Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok Terminal

Logistics and cargo area

Passenger terminal

Northern runway

Southern runway Light Rail System

To Kowloonand Hong Kong

Train station

Future Terminal

Expansion

Aerial View of Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok Airport Terminal

Kansai International Airport, Osaka Bay, Japan

Aerial View of the Dallas / Fort Worth Airport

Phosavan Airfeild, Laos

2. Airport Functions

■ Airport activities• Terminal activities:

• Parking, ground transportation, checking in, baggage-claiming, restoration, retailing and maintenance.

• Provide services to passengers and freight.• Airfield activities:

• Loading and unloading planes, maintenance and traffic control.• Provide services to aircrafts.

■ Economic functions• Improved economic opportunities.• Employment (USA):

• $500 billion of economic activity.• 1.9 million direct and 4.8 million indirect jobs.

• Global service activities.• Passengers and freight airports.

Passenger Traffic at the World’s Largest Airports, 2004

Dallas IntlTokyo Haneda

Chicago O'Hare

Frankfurt IntlLondon Heathrow

Paris De Gaulle

Los Angeles Intl Atlanta Hartsfield

Passengers

Less than 30 M

30 M to 40 M

40 M to 60 M

More than 60 M

Freight Traffic at the World’s Largest Airports, 2004

Taipei ShekMiami Int'L

Tokyo NaritaMemphis IntlIncheon Hlpt

Hong Kong Intl

Frankfurt Intl

Paris De Gaulle

Singapore Changi

Los Angeles Intl

Louisville Standiford

New York Ny/Newark Kennedy

Freight

Less than 1 M

1 to 1.5 M

1.5 to 2 M

More than 2 M

Tons of Landed Freight at Major US Airports, 2003

JFK

MIAFLL

TPA

MCOSATIAH MSYAUS

JAX

ELP SHV

SAN

DFW

PHX ATL CAE

LAXONT

HSVABQ

MEM CLT

RDULAS

BNATUL

SJC

RIC

SFOOAK

SDFSTL

IADCVG

BWI

MCI

RNO

INDDEN

PHL

DAY

MDTPIT

EWRSLC

FWAOMA

CLEDSM

TOL

BDL

ORDRFD

DTW

BOSMHT

BUF

MKE

SYRBOI

FSD

MSP

PDX

SEABFI

GEG

Tons of Landed Freight (2003)

Less than 400,000

400,000 to 800,000

800,000 to 2 million

2 million to 4 million

More than 4 million

D – Terminal Security

■ 1. Passengers■ 2. Freight

1. Passengers

■ A focus on terminals• Access is monitored and controlled.• Movements are channeled along pathways that provide safe

access to and from platforms and gates.• Safety and theft have been a concern for freight terminals.

■ Airports• Focus of security concerns for many decades.• High-jacking aircraft came to the fore in the 1970s.• Terrorist groups in the Middle East exploited the lack of security

to commandeer planes for ransom and publicity.• Established screening procedures for passengers and bags.• Reductions in hijackings, although terrorists changed their tactics

by placing bombs in un-accompanied luggage and packages,

1. Passengers

■ Hub-and-spoke networks• Strain on the security process.• Disparities in the effectiveness of passenger screening.

■ Impacts of September 11, 2001• Department of Homeland Security established the Transportation

Security Authority (TSA).• Strict new security measures:

• Restricting access to airport facilities.• Fortifying cockpits.• Extensive security screening of passengers.

• Screening:• More rigorous inspections of passengers and their baggage at airports.• Biometric identification for foreign nationals (fingerprint, facial recognition).

1. Passengers

■ Costs• All screeners (45,000) are now part of the Federal workforce.• Purchase of screening machinery and training of personnel.• Additional delays and aggravation for passengers.• Downturn in air transport.• Some passengers may switch to other modes.

2. Freight

■ Issues• Less regulated and greater international dimensions.• Illegal immigrants, drug smuggling, piracy.• The container makes it extremely difficult to identify illicit and/or

dangerous cargoes.• Hubbing:

• Compounds the problem.• Large numbers of containers are required to be handled with minimum

delays and inconvenience. • Automated Identity System:

• Permanently marked and visible identity number.• Record maintained of flag, port of registry and address of the registered

owner.

2. Freight

• Each port must undertake a security assessment• Assets and facilities.• Effects of damages that might be caused.• Evaluate the risks, and identify weaknesses to security.

• Customs clearance:• All cargoes destined for the US.• Prior to the departure of the ship.• Biometric identification for seafarers to be implemented and that national

databases of sailors to be maintained.