Developing a sustainable road-rail multimodal distribution network for improved animal welfare and meat quality under carbon tax in Queensland, Australia

There have been ongoing calls for reviving the rail system in Australia to transport cattle and meat products which is thought to be more reliable transport mode than road transport. This paper aims to develop a decision support model for the road-rail network for meat and cattle transportation. This model considers animal welfare, traffic congestion, and meat quality loss due to the delay of transportation as well as the effects of a carbon tax. The proposed model generates an optimal network configuration in which each leg of the journey is conducted by the most reliable and efficient transport mode. We implement this model using the meat and cattle supply chain case of Queensland that that comprises production regions, terminals, abattoirs, seaports and distribution centers. The results indicate that the road–rail multimodal network would be preferred if animal welfare issues were prioritised. Our decision support model is expected to support policy makers in making decisions to design a transport network with optimum balance of economic and environmental goals.