Accompanied combined transport is a form of

intermodal transport Intermodal transport (or intermodal transportation) involves the use of more than one mode of transport for a journey. It may refer to: * Intermodal passenger transport * Intermodal freight transport See also * Intermodal transportation center ...

, which is the movement of goods in one and the same loading unit or road vehicle, using successively two or more modes of transport without handling the goods themselves in changing modes. More specifically, accompanied combined transport is one of the two types of

combined transport Combined transport is a form of intermodal transport, which is the movement of goods in one and the same loading unit or road vehicle, using successively two or more modes of transport without handling the goods themselves in changing modes. Com ...

, which is intermodal transport where the major part of the journey is by rail, inland waterways or sea, and any initial and/or final legs carried out by road are as short as possible. Cornbined transport is said to be "accompanied" when the driver of a complete freight carrying road vehicle is accompanying that vehicle, while it is being transported using other mode of transport. This form of

intermodal freight transport Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation (e.g., rail, ship, aircraft, and truck), without any handling of the freight itself when changing ...

is relatively common in Europe.

Accompanied combined transport by rail

Introduction

There are two basic types of rail service that may involve accompanied combined transport: * A

car shuttle train A car shuttle train, or (sometimes) car-carrying train, is a shuttle train used to transport accompanied cars (automobiles), and usually also other types of road vehicles, for a relatively short distance. Car shuttle trains usually operate on ...

(not to be confused with a

Motorail A motorail train or accompanied car train (ACT) is a passenger train on which passengers can take their car or automobile along with them on their journey. Passengers are carried in normal passenger carriages or in sleeping carriages on longer ...

service) is a train used to transport road vehicles a relatively short distance while accompanied by their occupants. Car shuttle trains commonly operate through a

rail tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube constr ...

connecting two places not easily accessible to each other by road. This type of rail service usually transports accompanied freight carrying road vehicles as well as passenger carrying vehicles. However, transport of freight carrying road vehicles on car shuttle trains is not always strictly combined transport, because the car shuttle train trip may be only a small fraction of the freight carrying road vehicle's overall journey. * A

rolling highway In rail transportation, a rolling highway or rolling road is a form of combined transport involving the conveying of road trucks by rail, referred to as Ro-La trains. The concept is a form of piggyback transportation. The technical challen ...

(originating from the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

designation ''Rollende Autobahn'', also known as ''Rollende Landstrasse'' ("rolling main road"), abbreviated ''RoLa''), is a combined transport system used to transport

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...

s or

lorries A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

by rail, accompanied by their drivers travelling in a railway passenger car or couchette with seats or beds. BLS Autoverlad

Car shuttle trains

Austria

* Böckstein (

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

) –

Mallnitz Mallnitz is a municipality in the Spittal an der Drau District in Carinthia, Austria. Geography It is situated in a high valley of the Hohe Tauern mountain range stretching southwards down to Obervellach on the Möll river and separating the A ...

Obervellach Obervellach ( sl, Zgornja Bela) is a market town in the district of Spittal an der Drau, in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography The town is situated in the valley of the Möll river, on the southern slope of the High Tauern mountain rang ...

( Carinthia): Autoschleuse Tauernbahn (

ÖBB The Austrian Federal Railways (german: Österreichische Bundesbahnen, formally (lit. "Austrian Federal Railways Holding Stock Company") and formerly the or ''BBÖ''), now commonly known as ÖBB, is the national railway company ...

)

France – United Kingdom

Accompanied road vehicles are carried in closed railway wagons through the

Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone ( Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles (Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dove ...

between

Sangatte Sangatte (; ) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department on the northern coast of France on the English Channel. The name is of Flemish origin, meaning hole or gap in the sand. Engineering Sangatte is the location for the Channel Tunnel's F ...

(

Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

) and Cheriton (

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Germany

The DB AutoZug SyltShuttle transports road vehicles on railway wagons over the

Hindenburgdamm The Hindenburgdamm or Hindenburg Dam is an 11 km-long causeway joining the North Frisian island of Sylt to mainland Schleswig-Holstein. Its coordinates are . It was opened on 1 June 1927 and is exclusively a railway corridor. The companie ...

from

Niebüll Niebüll ( Mooring North Frisian: ''Naibel''; da, Nibøl) is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated near the North Sea coast and the border with Denmark, approx. 35 km northwest of Husum. Inte ...

to Westerland in

Sylt Sylt (; da, Sild; Söl'ring North Frisian: ) is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, and well known for the distinctive shape of its shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian Islands and is the ...

(or in the opposite direction).

Switzerland

The following car shuttle trains (

Swiss German Swiss German (Standard German: , gsw, Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch Mundart,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no defined orthography for any of them, many different spelling ...

: ''Autoverlad'') operate in Switzerland (mostly through tunnels): *

Andermatt Andermatt ( rm, ) is a mountain village and municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland. At an elevation of above sea level, Andermatt is located at the center of the Saint-Gotthard Massif and the historical center cross of north-south and ...

( UR) - Sedrun ( GR): Oberalp ( MGB) *

Brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part ...

( VS) -

Iselle Trasquera is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centr ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

): Simplon ( SBB) *

Kandersteg Kandersteg is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located along the valley of the River Kander, west of the Jungfrau massif. It is noted for its spectacular mount ...

( BE) -

Goppenstein Goppenstein (1,216 m) is a Swiss hamlet in the canton of Valais, located in the lower Lötschental and traversed by the Lonza river. It belongs to the municipality of Ferden. Goppenstein is mainly known for its railway station on the Lötschbe ...

( VS):

Lötschberg The Lötschberg is an Alpine mountain massif and usually associated with a major, historically important transit axis of the Alps in Switzerland with, at its core, the Lötschen Pass (german: Lötschenpass, Swiss German: ''Lötschepass''). The mo ...

(no road connection) ( BLS) *

( BE) -

(

und Simplon ( BLS) *

Oberwald Oberwald is a village in the municipality of Obergoms in Goms District in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It is situated at an elevation of 1,377 m and had a population of 277 in December 2007. It is located at the end of the Goms, directl ...

( VS) -

Realp Realp (archaic : ''Frialp'') is a municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland. History Realp is first mentioned in 1363 as ''Riealb''. Geography Realp has an area, , of . Of this area, 41.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.3% ...

( UR): Furka ( MGB) * Klosters Selfranga ( GR) - Sagliains ( GR):

Vereina Tunnel The Vereina Tunnel is a railway tunnel, and the principal part of the Vereina railway line, in the canton of Graubünden in eastern Switzerland. It connects the Landquart–Davos Platz and the Bever–Scuol-Tarasp lines. First proposed durin ...

(instead of the drive over the Flüelapass) ( RhB) *

Thusis Thusis ( it, Tosana, '' Romansh: Tusàn'') is a municipality in the Viamala Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Mutten merged into the municipality of Thusis. History Thusis is first mentione ...

( GR) -

Samedan Samedan (, ) is a town and municipality in the Maloja Region in the Swiss canton of Grisons. It is served by Samedan railway station on the Rhaetian Railway network and by the Samedan Airport. History Samedan is first mentioned in 1139 as ...

( GR):

Albula Albula may refer to: Places *Albula, an old (possibly legendary) name of the Tiber river Switzerland *Albula Range, a mountain range *Albula (river), a tributary of the Hinterrhein *Albula District, a district in canton Graubünden until 2017 ** ...

(as an alternative to the

Julierpass The Julier Pass ( Romansh: ''Pass dal Güglia'', German: ''Julierpass'', Italian ''Passo del Giulia'') (el. 2284 m) is a mountain pass in Switzerland, in the Albula Alps. It connects the Engadin valley with central Graubünden, the nearest inh ...

) ( RhB) Up until the opening of the Gotthard Road Tunnel in 1980, there was also a car shuttle train through the

Gotthard Rail Tunnel , it, Galleria del San Gottardo , other_name = , line = Gotthard Line , location = Traversing the Saint-Gotthard Massif in the middle of the Swiss Alps , coordinates = , os_grid_ref = , status = , system ...

between

Göschenen Göschenen (German, it, Casinotta, rm, Caschanuttais) a village and municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland. It sits at the northern end of the Gotthard tunnel. The Göschenen riots (1875) saw Urner troops opening fire on Italian miner ...

und

Airolo Airolo (''Airöö'' in Lombard, in rm, italic=yes, ) is a municipality in the district of Leventina in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. Geography Airolo is located in Leventina valley and the Lepontine Alps, on the southern flank of ...

. Following the catastrophic fire in the road tunnel on 24 October 2001, this car shuttle train resumed operations for a few weeks.Media release UVEK: Official reopening of the Gotthard Road Tunnel
MÁV 1047 Kecskemét állomáson egy RoLa vonattal

MÁV 1047 Kecskemét állomáson egy RoLa vonattal

Rolling highways

Rolling highways are mostly used for transit routes, e.g. through the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...

or between western and eastern Europe.

Austria

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, rolling highways operate from

Bayern Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

via

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

or to

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, wh ...

Hungary

There are several rolling highway routes in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

, including an international route linking Kiskundorozsma, near

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also other alternative names) is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat of Csongrád-Csanád county. The University of Szeged is one of the m ...

in Hungary, with

Wels Wels (; Central Bavarian: ''Wös'') is a city in Upper Austria, on the Traun River near Linz. It is the county seat of Wels-Land, and with a population of approximately 60,000, the eighth largest city in Austria. Geography Wels is in the ...

in Austria.

India

A rolling highway operates between

Kolad Kolad is a village in Raigad district, Maharashtra State, India. It is 117 km from Mumbai on the National Highway no 66(Mumbai-Goa) its also connected Pune via kolad Pune- kolad state highaway . It lies on the banks of River Kundalika. ...

in Maharashtra and Verna in

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to th ...

, with an extension to

Surathkal Surathkal is one of the major localities in the northern part of Mangalore city located on National highway 66 (previously as NH-17) in the Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka state, India on the shore of Arabian sea. It is a municipality mer ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Kar ...

. This service is more commonly known as RORO (roll-on-roll-off) in

Konkan Railway The Konkan Railway (abbreviated KR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India with its headquarters at CBD Belapur in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The first passenger train ran on Konkan railway tracks on 20 March 1993, between Udupi an ...

Switzerland

In Switzerland, there are rolling highways across the Alps on both the Gotthard and the

- Simplon routes.

Accompanied combined transport by water

Car ferry

Hovercraft

Between 1968 and 2000, several

hovercraft A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull, or air cushion, ...

services transported accompanied road vehicles, including freight carrying vehicles, between

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. The p ...

and either

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to the Census, there was a populatio ...

in the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Accompanied Combined Transport Rail freight transport Road transport Water transport Intermodal transport de:Autoverladung de:Rollende Landstraße