Beyond infrastructure: how freight demand and accessibility shape modal choice in general freight transportation

This article proposes a technical and analytical interpretation of the interaction between land use and transport in general freight, comparing road network capillarity with the spatial selectivity of rail transport. The methodology adapts the land-use-transport cycle to freight movements, linking shipper demand, accessibility, terminals and transport output. The results indicate that road transport responds more effectively to dispersed demand requiring lower levels of consolidation, whereas general freight by rail depends on spatial concentration of demand, regularity of flows, terminals and corridors with sufficient scale. It is concluded that modal shift does not result solely from the availability of rail infrastructure, but from the coherence between the spatial organisation of productive activities, the concentration of shippers, the service attributes they demand and the conditions required to enable intermodal accessibility.