road on rail

MODALOHR

France

Italy
An experimentation currently under way between Aiton and Turin should prompt the Sncf (French railway service) and Trenitalia Cargo (Italian Railway Freight) to develop a Modalohr piggy-back transportation railway in direction of neighbouring countries (Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia). A planned line from the Trieste port would permit shipping the thousands of unaccompanied semi-trailers that yearly arrive in this port towards France, Germany and beyond.

The express freight railway service

Following the implementation of a France-Italy connection, the Modalohr system will soon operate on a second line between France (Spanish border) and Luxembourg. At the same time, other projects are currently being studied throughout Europe to inter-connect all of these lines in the long-run so as to offer a real European piggy-back transpor tation railway network and enable the long-distance transit of 38-ton semi-trailers.

The new Modalohr express freight railway line between Perpignan and Luxembourg, which will open in 2007, will be the rst link in a north-south axis. It will be optimised with the creation of new terminal stops: Lille (Dourges), Dijon (or Ambrieux), Marseille. In addition, as soon as 2008, a line on the Atlantic front will alleviate the heavy trailer trafc from Spain towards the North of France and Benelux.

Luxembourg
The Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (Railways of Luxembourg) have decided that the Modalohr terminal stop on the site of Bettembourg will also be the hub for future terminals located in Germany, Italy and England. A project between Bettembourg and Poznan (Poland) which is to be extended to Byelorussia is also currently under way.

Austria
A rst project between Vienna and Regensburg is currently under study. Hubs would then be proposed in direction of Hungary and Rumania, Benelux and Northern Germany, as well as towards Italy.

Lithuania

Lbeck/Rostock
Rus sia

London

Rotterdam Lille Frankfurt Paris Luxembourg

Berlin

Poznan

Warsawa

Germany
Several projects are simultaneously being researched such as linking one of the ports on the Baltic Sea (Lbeck or Rostock) with the south-west (Frankfurt or Luxembourg), and with the south-east (Regensburg). The possibility of extending these links towards Poland, Hungary, Italy, France and Spain is being considered.

Regensburg Mnchen Tours Dijon Basel

Ro ma nia

Wien

Lyon Aiton Milano Torino Irun

Spain

Trieste Verona

Romania

Poland
Two connecting lines would make it possible to carry tens of thousands of semi-trailers yearly as early as 2009: east to west, from Belarus to Germany (a very heavy and difcult transit road), and north to west from the Baltic countries towards Germany via Warsaw.

Perpignan
Spain

Marseille

MODALOHR, a low-oor articulated railway wagon, enables the quick, safe and economical transhipment of standard semi-trailers from the road to the rail.

Having been patented and proven in its commercial operation between France and Italy for a few years, the Modalohr concept is based on the use of a railway wagon enabling the transpor tation of standard roadway semi-trailers on the existing railway network.

Modalohr accepts most standard trucks without modication. Maximum height: 4.04 m Semi-trailer maximum length 13.7 m Semi-trailer maximum load : 38 t

Groupe LOHR www.lohr.fr www.modalohr.com Tel +33(0)3 88 38 98 00 Fax +33(0)3 88 96 06 36 BP1 HANGENBIETEN F-67838 TANNERIES Cedex

LOHR DDOCC 03/2006 - D7404

The concept

Horizontal loading of trucks is directly carried out with the roadway tractor without any handling equipment. It requires no special roadway equipment such as for example the use of piggy-back trailers which is required in conventional combined transportation. Lateral herring-bone loading of trucks makes possible the simultaneous, rapid transhipment of the trucks. The fully mechanical and very simple system, for articulation and opening the wagons, signicantly reduces maintenance. The transhipment terminal, consisting of simply asphalted areas on either side of the railway track is equipped with xed operated opening systems installed on the track itself that can be easily serviced. The very low loading platform enables 4 metre-high trucks to be loaded within the limits of existing railway gauges (UIC GB1). Maintenance costs are comparable to those of a conventional wagon thanks to the standard bogies and wheels.

Accepted roadway stock