Semi-trailer transportation

An efficient, competative and environmentally friendly service that ensure safe transportation of goods

Transportation of semi-trailers by rail is an attractive mode of freight transportation, which guarantees fast and reliable freight transportation for all participants in the logistics chain. The service is particularly popular in Western Europe, where combined transport is growing rapidly, so the benefits of the rail-road partnership are becoming particularly relevant to us. So far, the service is new in Lithuania, but it is expected that the new practice will strengthen the advantages of each mode of transport - economy and environmental friendliness of long-distance freight transportation, and flexibility of door-to-door delivery of road transport.

How are semi-trailers being transported by rail?

Using special equipment, semi-trailers are loaded on the train platform. At the end of the rail journey, at the intermodal terminals, the semi-trailers are moved back onto the trucks for the "last mile" service, i.e. to deliver the goods to the customer "door to door".

Pilot semi-trailer train

LTG Cargo and its partners transported truck semi-trailers for the first time by rail in May 2020. On May 14, a pilot train with 22 car semi-trailers arrived at Sestokai railway station in Lazdijai district - it arrived from Duisburg, Germany in two days, then semi-trailers were transported by rail in the Baltic States.

The pilot transportation of semi-trailers was initiated by LTG Cargo together with partners - PKP Cargo, one of the largest rail freight companies in Poland, and CargoBeamer, an intermodal transportation operator.

Semi-trailers of eight transport and logistics companies - Girteka, Vlantana, Hoptransa, DSV, Arcese, Solotransa, Nokvera and Griciaus įmone - were delivered by trial transport of semi-trailers. Semi-trailers were loaded on a special train platform at the Kaldenkirchen intermodal terminal on the border with the Netherlands, and reached Sestokai on the European track of Rail Baltica. At Sestokai, the semi-trailers were returned onto raod transport to reach the final unloading point.

Benefits of rail semi-trailers for society and customers

Efficiency	Safety	Environment
Large cargo loading.	A large number of accidents is avoided.	The negative impact on the environment is reduced - 76% of all environmental pollution is caused by freight transport by road, 12% - by aviation, 10% - by water transport and only 2% by rail.
Lower fuel consumption.	Low dependence on weather conditions leads to safer transportation of cargo all year round.
Faster customs procedures.
Congestion at the boarder is avoided.

Further development of the service

1435 mm rail track gauge	1520 mm rail track gauge
Transportation of semi-trailers to Western European countries, primarily Italy, on the route Sestokai (Lithuania) - Verona (Italy).	Transportation of semi-trailers towards Northern Europe - in the direction of Estonia, on the already known route of the intermodal train "Amber Train".
Connection of Kaunas Intermodal Terminal (KIT) to the RailBaltica project.	Transportation of semi-trailers from Turkey to Scandinavia via Belarus and Ukraine.

Where do we want to progress?

To expand the transportation of semi-trailers to Western and Northern European countries.
Increase door-to-door freight delivery by combining different modes of transport.
Actively contribute to one of Europe's key goals: reducing pollution (up to 60% by 2025).

Contact us!

To order the service or learn more about it, contact our sales team by email [email protected] and phone no. +370 5 202 1515 or leave a request for the rail transport service of semi-trailers you are interested in here.

Updated on 2021-03-10