A freight transport optimization model for integrated network, service, and policy design

•Model for the joint optimization of multimodal network, service design and CO2 price.•A bi-level network optimization model is extended with emission pricing.•Multimodal route choice is calibrated using data on transshipment terminals, ship-lock counts, and border counts.•Pricing can lead to more sparse terminal networks and lower total transport costs.•Pricing accelerates the formation of transshipment hubs and hub-based services.

This paper presents a freight transport optimization model that simultaneously incorporates multimodal infrastructure, hub-based service network structures, and the various design objectives of multiple actors. The model has been calibrated and validated using real-life data from the case study of hinterland container transport of the Netherlands, where CO2 pricing, terminal network configuration, and hub-service networks are chosen as the design measures. Policy packages combining multiple types of policies show better network performance as compared with the optimal performance resulting from a single policy type. This illustrates the value of incorporating multiple types of policies simultaneously in freight transport optimization.