
Cargobeamer is an
intermodal transport system. It involves specially designed
pallet
A pallet (also called a skid) is a flat transport structure, which supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, a pallet jack, a Loader (equipment), front loader, a Jack (mechanical), jacking device, or an erect cra ...
s which can be carried on a
road trailer; the pallets are fitted on top of
flatcar
A flatcar (US) (also flat car, or flatbed) is a piece of rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on trucks (US) or bogies (UK) at each end. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry extra heavy or extra large loads are mounted ...
s but can slide sideways to allow trucks to drive on and off smoothly at intermodal terminals. A first testing terminal was opened in
Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
; trial runs between Leipzig and
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
were planned in November 2010. Since July 2021, the first full CargoBeamer terminal is available to the public transport market in
Calais
Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
CargoBeamer Routes
The company advertises several routes:
* Kaldenkirchen – Domodossola (, 17 hours)
* Calais – Perpignan (, 24 hours)
* Calais – Domodossola (, 19 hours)
* Kaldenkirchen – Perpignan (, 30 hours)
CargoBeamer Terminals
Calais (France)

The first full CargoBeamer terminal was opened in
Calais
Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
in July 2021 with a first connection to
Perpignan
Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...
in Southern France.
Later that year, a second lane to
Domodossola
Domodossola (; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the region of Piedmont, northern Italy. It was also known as Oscela, Oscella, Oscella dei Leponzi, Ossolo, Ossola Lepontiorum, and Domo d'Ossola (due to it ...
in Italy was added.
Domodossola (Italy)
In March 2021, CargoBeamer announced the purchase of a railyard in
Domodossola
Domodossola (; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the region of Piedmont, northern Italy. It was also known as Oscela, Oscella, Oscella dei Leponzi, Ossolo, Ossola Lepontiorum, and Domo d'Ossola (due to it ...
, Italy. The site was chosen to serve as the second terminal location entirely equipped with the CargoBeamer handling technology.
Competing systems
Competing systems are offered by
Modalohr and
Cargospeed.
Cargospeed
/ref>
See also
* Loading gauge
A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and k ...
* 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 challenge ...
* Sidelifter
A sidelifter is a specialised vehicle or semi-trailer used to hoist and transport International Organization for Standardization, ISO standard intermodal containers over longer distances.
Overview
The sidelifter loads and unloads containers via a ...
* Swap body
A swap body, exchangeable container or interchangeable unit, is one of the types of standard freight containers for road and rail transport.
Based on and very similar to the more widespread shipping containers (ISO containers), swap bodies norm ...
* Tank chassis
A container chassis, also called intermodal chassis or skeletal trailer, is a type of semi-trailer designed to securely carry an intermodal container. Chassis are used by truckers to deliver containers between ports, railyards, container depot ...

References
{{reflist
External links
Website of CargoBeamer
Intermodal transport
Transport in Europe
Freight rolling stock