Chair of Corporate Management and Logistics promotes dialog on Combined Transport in Hesse and Germany

Combined Transport (CT), i.e. the transportation of goods in a truck or in loading units such as swap bodies, containers or semi-trailers, refers to transports in which the majority of the total route is carried out by rail, inland waterway or sea vessel and the other, shortest possible part by motor vehicle. With the increasing volume of freight traffic on German roads, also forecasted by the German government, there is no way around CT: We are working on future-proof and sustainable formats to strengthen the railways and waterways and relieve road congestion.

In order to achieve a sustainable shift in freight transport by means of road/rail freight transport (CT) in Hesse and Germany, we organize the “Combined Transport Forum” every two years together with the House of Logistics and Mobility (HOLM) in Frankfurt am Main. Together with representatives from business, science and politics, we are looking for opportunities for CT to make a contribution to achieving climate targets and to relieve the burden on road transport.

2025 forum took place for the fourth time and provided exciting insights from large and medium-sized companies, particularly with regard to the requirements for a reliable and at the same time high-performance infrastructure for CT as well as opportunities for robust and economical transport networks in CT.

In 2023, the forum led to a heated debate between representatives of Hessian state politics, particularly with regard to the (at the time) upcoming state elections in Hesse. This discussion was framed by two key notes with true prospects for the future.

In 2021, the forum took place with a focus on digitalization, the key to profitably combining the specific strengths of the two modes of transport, road and rail. The newly built Combined Transport Innovation Lab was also opened during the event together with Dr. Sigrid Nikutta.

In 2019, the “Combined Transport Forum” format was launched with the question: “Does the future belong to Combined Transport?” In addition to numerous exciting specialist presentations, there were lively discussions with the audience.

With the “Combined Transport Innovation Lab” at the House of Logistics and Mobility (HOLM), we are pursuing the goal of promoting a diverse dialog with different people from the transport and logistics industry, as well as from politics and society. This enables us to transfer results and at the same time reflect on the practical applicability of our solutions and identify new innovative fields of research.

In addition to basic information, we present innovative research results for increasing the productivity and efficiency of Combined Transport. We also take into account society's perspective on achieving climate targets and reducing other negative external effects (realized through traffic avoidance, traffic reduction and modal shift to environmentally friendly modes of transport). In order to convey all of this interactively, selected tasks related to CT are available at an interaction table. The corresponding solutions can be examined in greater depth at the dedicated workstations for freight forwarders, terminals and CT operators. For this purpose, we have prepared our research results for the touch screens at the workstations for “self-study”. We are happy to explain the detailed functionality of our solutions in the meeting area, where we can carry out further simulation experiments and test new optimization methods just like in a laboratory.

With our multifunctional “Combined Transport Innovation Lab” at the HOLM, we are addressing several target groups at the same time. Together with the companies involved in CT, we want to further increase the efficiency of CT and involve both shippers and politicians in an inspiring way. We also want to inspire our students, who can develop, discuss and test new ideas for CT here in the lab.

Would you like to visit our innovation lab? Get in touch with our contact person now: Eva Hartmann, Team Assistant

The initiative aims to exploit the full potential of Combined Transport and make a significant contribution to the transport transition. The transport turnaround addresses the “triad of avoid, shift, improve”, as the VCD aptly puts it. The aim is to avoid unnecessary freight transportation and shift the remaining freight to more environmentally friendly modes of transport. In addition, the efficiency and sustainability of transport should be increased overall through improved organization and the introduction of new technologies.

Sustainability: Combined Transport makes a significant contribution to achieving the German government's climate targets (reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 65% by 2030 and greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045) thanks to the short transport distances in the pre- and onward carriage by road and the high energy efficiency of freight trains in the main leg. A study by D-Fine shows that up to 90% of CO2 can be saved compared to pure road freight transport, for example. In addition, the road infrastructure will be sustainably relieved, as a truck weighing 30 tons puts up to 50,000 times more strain on the road than a small car (according to the Fourth Power Law, which is used in road construction).

Supply reliability: Thanks to greater transport capacities, Combined Transport can make a particular contribution to securing supplies: “One freight train can replace up to 52 trucks,” as the Allianz pro Schiene states. In addition to freight trains, trucks can also transport larger quantities in the pre- and onward carriage of combined transport, as they have a gross vehicle weight rating that is 4 tons higher than in pure road freight transport. Another significant advantage for the security of supply in Germany is that trucks in combined transport are not affected by bans on Sundays and public holidays.

Jobs: Combined transport has the potential to create attractive jobs and improve the job profile of truck drivers. Thanks to short pre- and post-carriage routes to the next terminal, it helps truck drivers to combine work and family life. In addition, shorter transport routes and lower transport volumes on the road significantly reduce the risk of accidents for truck drivers. The Allianz pro Schiene estimates that the risk of accidents by rail is up to 42 times lower.

We want to raise awareness of the performance potential of Combined Transport in Germany and Europe. We use the “Innovation Lab on Combined Transport” and the “Forum Combined Transport”, which takes place every two years at the House of Logistics and Mobility, for this purpose.

Jürgen Albersmann, Contargo

Prof. Dirk Engelhardt, BGL

Frank Erschkat, DB Cargo, TFG Transfracht

Armin Riedl, Kombiverkehr

Harald Schlegel, Kombiterminal Ludwigshafen

Klaus Langendorf, DB Cargo

Prof. Ralf Elbert, TU Darmstadt

Michael Kadow, House of Logistics and Mobility