The port of Trieste will implement VEGA’s roadrailLink system

The port of Trieste will implement VEGA’s roadrailLink system

RailFreight.com — 2022-10-26

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Adriafer, the railway company of the port of Trieste, will adopt the roadrailLink (r2L) connector system that will allow to move non-cranable trailers from trucks onto trains directly. The r2L system was developed by VEGA Trans, an Austrian company specialising in vehicle transfer. For the r2L project, VEGA has partnered with VTG.

The service is not active yet, but Adriafer is planning its implementation in new rail freight connections through Lotras, a logistics company from the south of Italy. This is because Lotras is already in charge of the rail freight service between the Cervignano terminal and the Turin Interport, crossing the north of Italy from east to west.

The project aims at decongesting the roads of Friuli Venezia-Giulia, the Italian northeastern region that borders Slovenia. The area is, in fact, often busy with trucks coming from Eastern Europe. Moreover, the shift to rail is expected to also make up for trucks and truck drivers shortages as well as increasing fuel prices.

The roadrailLink system

The r2L system handles non-cranable semitrailers in the same way as cranable ones. Specifically, the concept uses a galvanised metal plate. Trailers are placed on this metal plate which can then be lifted by a crane. It is a vertical technology which differentiates from other similar ones because it does not require a loading ramp. The cargo handling can take place right in front of the wagon, and with a loading time between five and eight minutes per semi-trailer, it is equally efficient with standard loading techniques.

The technology is suitable for use in more than 90% of European terminals, while its expansion to double pocket wagons provides intermodal solutions with no gaps. Moreover, it constitutes an easy-to-use system that does not lack precision. Due to the laser distance measuring technology that it uses, human involvement in loading processes is reduced compared to other handling systems.