Quality evaluation of Spanish Dry Ports location based on DELPHI methodology and Multicriteria Analysis Samir Awad Núñez Departamento de Ingeniería Civil. Transportes Universidad Politécnica de Madrid Profesor Aranguren s/n 28040, Madrid, Spain. Madrid, Spain s.awad@alumnos.upm.es Nicoletta González Cancelas, Alberto Camarero Orive nicoleta.gcancelas@upm.es, alberto.camarero@upm.es Abstract— Not all of Dry Ports potential is used because there is no planning methodology to help decision-making. The aim of this research is to gather all the factors influencing the choice of location of Dry Ports and set the weighting of each factor using the DELPHI methodology. The results give greater importance to the aspects considered in the classical theories of industrial location. However, setting the most appropriate location to place a Dry Port is a geographical multidisciplinary problem, with significant economic, social and environmental implications. Finally, we present a practical case consisting in an evaluation of the location quality of Spanish Dry Ports based on the result of DELPHI and a linear weighted Multicriteria decision analysis. Keywords-Logistics; Intermodal Transport; Sustainability; Dry Ports; Industrial Location I. INTRODUCTION Dry Ports are designed as a solution to increasing road congestion, lack of open spaces in port installations and the significant environmental impact of seaports, due to the complexity of the transport sector and the increased volume of transported goods [[1], [2] and [3]]. In addition, Dry Ports are also presented as an opportunity to strengthen intermodal solutions as part of an integrated and more sustainable transport chain for transporting goods by rail [[4], [5], [6], [7] and [8]]. Intermodal transport has gained prominence recently due to its potential to offer a 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 [[9] and [10]]. There is also a widely held view that the train is the most sustainable land transport and its use should be increased [[4], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16] and [17]]. Thus, Dry Ports are also presented as an opportunity to strengthen intermodal solutions as part of an integrated transport chain. In this sense, implementation of logistic platforms offers the opportunity to discretize each of the links of the transport chain. Thus more polluting means of transportation, which have a lower transport capacity, can make several itineraries on the road which are as short as possible. Also, they could be used to transport goods with high added value [15]. The competition of the different modes of transport and the difference in the interests of the various stakeholders involved in the Dry Ports have led to a situation of disorder in the distribution of goods that reflects the need for a referee in the planning of these facilities and a decisive commitment rail freight transport, even with separate infrastructure from passenger transport [[16] and [18]]. However, until now, there has not been a suitable tool for planning the location of nodal exchange infrastructure in general, and particularly for Dry Ports. The decision between purely technical considerations and the project costs has traditionally been made by means of Cost- Benefit Analysis [19]. Since the last decades of the 20th Century, the environment as a variable has gained importance in the planning and construction of transportation [20]. An Environmental Impact Assessment was added to the Cost- Benefit Analysis, which contributed decisively to the formalization of a decision-making system based on the use of multi-criteria analysis systems [21]. A complementary assessment which is not as structured and is not formalized and which is linked to territorial effects is gradually taking shape. While some of these effects are sometimes included within the Cost-Benefit Analysis or contained within the Multi Criteria Analysis, there is still a lack of systematic analysis [19]. The effects on the territory therefore become the most uncertain aspect of major transport infrastructure. There are also some newer techniques that attempt to solve the problems of localization. The most important that have been implemented are: Cluster analysis, Classification Trees and Decision Trees, Future Scenario Analysis (Simulation), DELPHI, Expert Systems (Bayesian Networks and Neural Networks) and Geographic Information Systems [22]. In this paper we use the DELPHI method to establish the weights of each of the factors that have an influence when deciding the location of a Dry Port. The DELPHI method is based on the analysis of the ideas of a group of experts who are SECTION 23. Transport and Logistics I N T E R D IS C I P LI N A R Y C O N F E R E N CE EIIC The 2nd Electronic International Interdisciplinary Conference http://www.eiic.cz/ Electronic International Interdisciplinary Conference September, 2. - 6. 2013 - 502 -