LG Cargo, a freight transportation company owned by the largest railway group in the Baltic States, Lithuanian Railways (Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai), has joined forces with the largest railway freight transport operator in Poland, PKP Cargo, and intermodal transport operator and technology provider CargoBeamer to pilot an intermodal train with road semi-trailers.
On May14th a train carrying 22 semi-trailers arrived at Sestokai
terminal, a southwest district of Lithuania after a 2-day trip from
Kaldenkirchen Intermodal Terminal, near the German border with the
Netherlands. This was the first ever semi-trailer transport by freight
train in the Baltic States.
During the pilot, semitrailers of eight international operating
transport and logistics companies were delivered. Loaded on a special
train wagon technology provided by CargoBeamer semi-trailers reached
Sestokai by the European gauge Rail Baltica. At the terminal in Sestokai
they were again connected to the trucks to drive the last mile to the
final point of unloading.
Breaking point in the freight market
“This historic pilot carriage of semi-trailers symbolizes a major
turning point in the freight transportation market, where synergies
between several modes of transport guarantee fast and reliable freight
transportation for all participants in the logistics chain. However, the
biggest achievement of such transportation is the environmental
friendliness and reduction of the negative impact of heavy vehicles on
the environment. We hope that the new practice will strengthen the
advantages of each of the modes of transport – the economy and
environmental friendliness of rail transport in long-distance
transportation, and the flexibility of road transport when delivering
freight door-to-door,” said Egidijus Lazauskas, CEO of LG Cargo.
„This pilot is of great importance to us as it will make it possible to
test new possibilities for freight transport from Lithuania via Poland
to Western Europe and in the opposite direction. This route is currently
dominated by road transport and we want to change this unfavorable
structure. Therefore, together with our partners, we work on preparing a
competitive transport offer. This is a business project but our efforts
will also have positive impact on environmental protection. Railways
are more environment-friendly than road transport as they release much
less harmful gases into the atmosphere and the European Union expects
that member states will make efforts to gradually increase the share of
railways in freight transport. In addition, trains provide safe
transport of goods, compared to trucks, as the accident rate in railways
is many times lower than on roads“, stated Czeslaw Warsewicz, CEO of
PKP CARGO.
„CargoBeamer has been interested in a train between Lithuania and the
Rhein-Ruhr region in Germany since its first visit to Kaunas ten years
ago. It is an exciting opportunity, and thanks to a great cooperation
with Lithuanian Railways we can see this initial vision materialize now.
Lithuania is the home of several big logistics players and we see a
future market for sustainable rail transportation of road trailers from
central Europe into the Baltics. We look forward to grow this business
together with Lithuanian Railways,“ said Hans-Juergen Weidemann, CEO of
CargoBeamer.
The long-distance transportation of semi-trailers by rail is encouraged
by the European Union (EU), as it has a lower impact on the environment
and increases road safety. It is also beneficial for logistics and road
transport companies, as it saves fuel and human resources. In addition,
it is easier and faster to cross borders between countries, thus
avoiding long downtime and possible delays at customs.
The European Commission aims to achieve that 30% of goods carried by
more than 300 kilometers would be transported by rail or water transport
by 2030, and by 2050 this figure should exceed 50%.
Zug verkehrt seit Mitte Juli 2020 wöchentlich: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-6689196229773029377-lFT7