Intermodal Terminals in Europe

Definition and differentiation

Intermodal terminals are freight loading and offloading – transshipment – facilities equipped with the handling technologies needed to transfer intermodal loading units between the different modes of transport used in Combined Transport: trucks, trains and waterborne vessels.

Terminals can be bimodal (road-rail or road-waterborne – the latter may also be referred to as a ‘port’) or trimodal, in which case the terminal offers a link between road, rail and waterborne modes on the same location.  Some trimodal terminals operating in seaports may even offer transhipment between seafaring and inland vessels as well as trucks and intermodal trains.

Terminals may be differentiated by the type of intermodal transshipment technique that they employ:

• Vertical: may be by high capacity rail-based or rubber-wheeled gantry cranes (RMG or RTG), or by mobile reachstackers.  While rail-based gantry cranes (RMG) are dominantly electric powered, their rubber tyred brethren, RTGs and reachstackers, are typically diesel powered, though electric versions are also appearing. The vertical transhipment of non-craneable semi-trailers is possible using specialised fittings such as the NIKRASA or VTG’s VEGA tray, or the ISU system
• Horizontal: using either of a series of horizontal transshipment techniques ranging from a simple ramp (RoLa, Channel Tunnel Shuttle – or accompanied CT) to a self opening wagon that requires only a solid concrete surface (HELROM) to a specialised wagon that needs an opening device installed in the ground (Modalohr, CargoBeamer).  Horizontal systems require that either the truck that brings the semi-trailer on site positions the loading unit onto or from the wagon, however, more frequently a terminal tractor belonging to the terminal manager performs these movements.  Terminal tractors are typically diesel powered, but electric versions also exist.

The various transshipment technologies have been compared in several studies that can be found in the download section.

Terminals may be categorised according to their need for shunting as follows:

• Through terminals offer a different entry and exit points whereby the line locomotive can enter with the train (a.k.a. schwung einfahrt) on the one end and depart directly without the wagons being detached.  Through terminals must offer a track length of at least 750m to enable the entry of the intermodal train in full.
• 750m single entry terminals with locomotive turnaround tracks enable entry by a diesel powered or a bimodal (diesel electric or battery electric) line locomotive, and offer a bypass track for the line-locomotive to detach and return to the departing end of the train while transhipment is carried out.
• 750m single entry terminals without turnaround tracks require a shunting locomotive to manoeuvre the wagonset onto the tracks under the crane.  For this the line locomotive must be detached from the train outside the terminal and it must then be picked up by a shunting locomotive which positions the wagonset.
• Single entry terminals with shorter than 750m tracks rely on shunting locomotives to break a wagonset into two or sometimes even three different parts which correspond to the available track length, or  that a shunting locomotive positions the wagons back and forth so that the transhipment technology can access each wagon.  The line locomotive is attached/detached to/from the wagon set outside the terminal.

Vertical transshipment terminals may be differentiated according to whether they can receive only top-loaded units (containers), or if they can also handle non-stackable loading units that require grapple arm-equipped spreaders to handle.

Dangerous Goods

Another difference can be if a terminal is authorised to handle/store loading units containing dangerous goods of a varying nature (liquid or solid, different levels of dangerous qualification.  There are terminals where the scale of handling dangerous goods may be limited for a variety of reasons.

Supplementary and ancillary services

Terminals may offer a variety of value added services such as various types of maintenance (wagon, loading unit, locomotive), cleaning (loading unit), storage (loaded and empty depot), customs agency, etc.  The issuance of Verified Gross Mass (VGM) certificates is a valuable service offered by many terminal focused on handling maritime containers.

Digitalisation in terminals

Terminals can considerably enhance their productivity through investing into digitalisation solutions:

• Photogate on the road-side entry saves manhours and speeds up processing of incoming and departing truck
• Photogate on the rail-side entry advances the processing of rail side entry and accelerate wagon inspection
• Pre-registration of truck drivers who frequently visit the terminal enables the opening of speed lanes, which reduce the time a truck driver spends visiting the termina
• A truck traffic indicator and waiting time prediction solution enables the road-leg provider to optimise the vehicle-hours spent with a road le
• Advanced communication capabilities can link the terminal’s operating system to both the road-leg providers as well as to rail-side actors delivering vital information on the estimated time of arrival of the train and the availability of units, as well as the terminal may optimise its capacities by learning in advance the actual arrival time fo a trai
• Crane automation: remote-control and automation solutions are offered to gantry cranes handling top-loaded loading units.  

EU regulatory framework of terminals

• The Single European Railway Area Directive (2012/34) and the Implementing Regulation 2177/2017 on Service Facilities formulate important tasks for terminals.
• The TEN-T Guidelines Regulation (1674/2024) Section VI is dedicated to the physical and digitalisation criteria of terminals, which serves as  a basis for state aid schemes as well as European Union financial assistance for development under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Regulation (2021/1153)
• The EU State Aid Guidelines for Land and Multimodal Transport  and the Transport Block Exemption Regulation (TBER)  are currently under revision.  Once adopted, the state aid framework for terminal development will be further enhanced.
• The presently ongoing revision of the Combined Transport Directive (92/106) may also entail rules and provisions that relate to terminals.