From Superinnovators 10/10/23. This article is in TLDR (Too Long Didn’t Read) format which is popular in the innovation community and provides a bullet summary of information.
- Road-rail freight system: The Lohr railway system allows for horizontal loading of standard road semi-trailers onto railway wagons without the need for a crane. It has been in use for over a decade with the CLIP Group installing the latest Lohr railway system terminal in Poland, in 2020.
- Special wagons and terminal: The system, designed and manufactured by French transport company Lohr, requires specialised wagons with a rotating platform and hydraulic lifting equipment installed at the terminal. A tractor with a semi-trailer is driven onto the platform, the trailer is unhitched, and then platform rotates and aligns parallel to the wagon’s axis.
- Advantages: The Lohr railway system offers several benefits, including short loading and unloading times, the ability to load/unload multiple wagons simultaneously, and eliminating the need for additional reloading devices. The system can also scale, as most semi-trailers cannot be lifted vertically due to technical limitations.
- Versatility: The Lohr wagons are also designed for vertical loading of clamp-on semi-trailers by crane at conventional combined transport terminals, highlighting their adaptability.
- Existing terminals: There are six Lohr system terminals across France, Italy, Luxembourg and now Poland. The first was installed at Aiton, Chambéry, France in 2003.
- Future expansion: There are plans for a further 28 Lohr system terminals with 7 ready to build, 7 detailed studies and 14 preliminary studies.
- Alternatives: Apart from the Lohr system, there is the ‘rolling highway’ method that involves transporting entire tractors with semi-trailers attached, on special rail wagons.
More info
https://clip-group.com/en/clip-group-installs-the-first-lohr-railway-system-in-poland/
https://www.lohr.fr/catalogue/the-lohr-system-terminals/
