What is combined transport?
Combined transport refers to the transportation of goods in loading units (containers, swap bodies, or trailers) involving at least two modes of transport. When changing transport modes, the goods remain in their loading units and are not individually handled. Another characteristic of combined transport is that the majority of the total route is covered by rail or inland/sea shipping. The truck portion of combined transport should be minimized to reduce CO2 emissions as much as possible.
Accompanied and unaccompanied combined transport
A distinction is made between accompanied and unaccompanied combined transport. In accompanied combined transport, the entire truck is transported on ships (RoRo) or railway wagons (Rolling Highway). In this case, the transport is usually accompanied by the truck driver. In unaccompanied combined transport, only the loading units are transferred.
The handling of loading units takes place at specialized terminals using reach stackers (large grab stackers) or container cranes, also known as portainers. The transport of the loading units to the terminal by truck is referred to as the pre-carriage. The transportation between the terminal and the recipient is called post-carriage and is also carried out by road.
The government supports combined transport with a few exceptions:
- Unlike traditional road freight transport, trucks used in combined transport are allowed a total weight of 44 tons instead of just 40 tons
- Combined transport is exempt from Sunday, holiday, and vacation driving bans
- Trucks used exclusively for pre- and post-carriage in combined transport may be exempt from motor vehicle tax
