Intermodal transport combines different means of transport:
road, rail, sea and air.
In unaccompanied combined transport (UCT), the loading units are carried by road or by vessel to the transhipment terminals. There they are loaded onto trains to continue the journey by rail, generally over long international distances. Only the loading units - containers, semi-trailers or swap bodies - are carried, while the drivers remain at the terminals. At the destination terminal the consignments are picked up by truck and transported to their final destination.
Unaccompanied combined transport combines the advantages of road and rail and offers an important alternative in European freight traffic. On transalpine routes, it is competitive for distances starting as low as 300 km. Transportation and logistics companies are increasingly shifting their long-distance traffic to the railroad in order to effectively respond to traffic jams, shortage of drivers, rising energy costs and fiscal burdens, and meet the demand for environmentally compatible transports.
With Shuttle Net, one of the largest networks in terms of route density and traffic frequency, Hupac connects the main economic areas of Europe from Sweden to Southern Italy, from Belgium to Russia, from the Netherlands to Hungary. In case of longer journeys, an intermediate transfer takes place. At so-called Gateway terminals the loading units are transferred from one train to another. In this way they reach secondary economic areas, thus benefiting from the advantages of an extensive intermodal network.
The Rolling Highway is an important additional service for transalpine transport, which allows trucks without the necessary fittings for unaccompanied transport to cross the Alps by rail. Whole trucks are loaded onto special rail wagons at the terminal. Drivers travel in a separate sleeping car.
Hupac operates a Rolling Highway on the Gotthard route. It serves the Swiss inland traffic and transits between Germany and Italy. Demand is low, because the low profile height in the Gotthard tunnel significantly limits the market potential.
The 4-meter Lötschberg-Simplon corridor offers more favourable conditions. On this route, RAlpin operates a Rolling Highway for transits between Freiburg and Novara. Shareholders of RAlpin Ltd are BLS, Hupac, SBB and Trenitalia.
Transport techniques in combined transport
Unaccompanied combined transport: Shuttle Net
Transportation of containers, semi-trailers and swap bodies by rail
Connections between the main European economic areas
Transportation from terminal to terminal or from port to inland terminal
