contact wire which makes vertical transhipment techniques nearly
impossible.
The alternatives are mobile instruments, which are relatively
slow and also need driving lanes (in contrast to public opinion
many ports are short of space). But as a cheap and flexible solution,
they are indispensable for small ports and also can be used as
additional instruments for the “rush hour” in bigger ones.
There are also different methods for multi-modal transport,
such as semi-trailers and swap bodies. The main advantage of these
methods is the possibility to change modes without further
equipment. Few connections are equipped with means for whole
trucks to “roll-on and roll-off” (roro). This allows particularly easy
loading and unloading, but the quotient between the overall weight
and the transported weight is too high for many situations.
2.3. Factors of success
The importance of the raileroad transport depends on several
factors, having fast and reliable transhipment is one of them. But
one should not forget that building railways and operating trains is
a very political issue, since still many railway companies are stateowned
and/or in some or the other way subsidised by a state.
Reasons for this can be different, but an important and probably
growing part of this, is the environmental issue.