Estimating flow times for containerized imports from Asia to the United States through the Western rail network

Queuing models are introduced for estimating container dwell times at rail intermodal terminals and transit times through rail line-haul corridors. These models are statistically calibrated on industry data. The intent of these models is to estimate changes in container flow times stemming from changes in infrastructure, staffing levels at terminals, or import volumes passing through given infrastructure. Flow times estimated for individual line segments are aggregated to provide estimates of the total transit time from West Coast rail ramps to inland destination ramps for imports moving from Asia to the Continental United States in marine as well as domestic containers.