New offers in combined transport
When freight forwarders or shippers become interested in combined transport and want to try out intermodal transport, their attempts usually fail due to one obstacle: they lack the technical requirements. This is because their trailers or those of their service providers are often not craneable. Craneable semi-trailers are not only more expensive, but also weigh 300 to 400 kilograms more than normal semi-trailers due to their reinforced structure. This means that payload is lost, and almost all road transport companies opt for non-craneable trailers.
99.5 per cent of all trailers on the market can be loaded
However, there is now a solution for the large number of non-craneable trailers. One option is a steel frame developed by Vega International Car Transport and Trading, onto which a trailer can be pushed. Both can then be lifted onto a carrier wagon using a reach stacker. ‘This means that 99.5 per cent of all trailers on the market can be loaded,’ said Vega CEO Franz Blum during a panel discussion at the transport logistic trade fair entitled ‘How can non-craneable trailers be transported by rail?’ The event was organised by the Verband deutscher Verkehrsunternehmen (VDV).
Vega has entered into a partnership with wagon hire company VTG. Both companies offer the product, which weighs a good 3 tonnes, under the name R2L. ‘VTG rents the platform and distributes the steel plate via various freight railways throughout Europe,’ explained Blum.
Nikrasa has not only been given a new name
TX Logistik offers a technically almost identical concept. The steel plate is currently known on the market under the name Nikrasa (non-craneable semi-trailers). The freight railway company initiated the first concepts back in 2012 and then developed them to market maturity. ‘We have now handled over 70,000 transports with the plate,’ said Christoph Dörre. The Business Development Manager at TX Logistik announced changes. Firstly, ‘Nikrasa’ will be renamed ‘Nik’. The abbreviation stands for neutral intermodal key. The new name goes hand in hand with a change in strategy. ‘We want to emphasise the neutrality of our system,’ said Dörre.
This is because the system is intended to be available to everyone in the market: partners, but also competitors, freight forwarders and terminal operators. He pointed out that the platform is available for all types of goods. Helrom offers a different technology for transporting non-craneable trailers. The railway wagon opens at the side, the trailer is pushed into the opening and then the wagon closes again.
‘But we don’t just have a different loading technology, we also try to control as many processes as possible ourselves,’ said Markus Exo, Senior Manager Industry Relations at Helrom. Both the loading crew at the terminals and the train, including wagons, locomotive and driver, would all come from a single source.
95 per cent of trains run on time
‘In addition, we always drive directly to the destinations without any stops. The delivery punctuality rate was 98.9 per cent in 2023 and 95 per cent in 2024,’ said Exo. That doesn't mean that trains are never late. But Helrom has built in buffers. ‘And thanks to the handling at the terminal, we can always ensure that the trailers are ready on time,’ said the Helrom manager.
Helrom currently offers six connections. ‘We want to expand further connections,’ announced Exo. A new round trip between western Germany and Poland is planned for September. He announced a new round trip between Stuttgart and Romania for the beginning of next year. ‘We want to increasingly target the truck spot market for this and other routes and set up our own department for this purpose,’ said Exo. (cd)
