DB Cargo Scandinavia is implementing the Container Transfer System (CTS) developed by Safe Green Logistics for the route connecting Aalborg, in northern Denmark, with their terminal Høje Taastrup, near Copenhagen. “This groundbreaking technology enables fast and efficient loading of ISO containers between truck and rail – without the use of cranes”, DB Cargo underlined.
SGL’s system is based on the horizontal transfer of containers from trucks onto rail wagons. In other words, truck drivers just need to position their vehicles parallel to the wagons. Both the truck and the wagon are equipped with the CTS trailer unit, which allows the container to ‘slide’ from one mode to another without the need for any crane. “. The only specific need at the base is an asphalt road parallel to the railway”, SGL added.
No rolling stock upgrades required
SGL states that a container can be transferred from truck to rail wagon and vice versa in 60 seconds. “As the process can be done simultaneously, an entire train set can be unloaded and loaded swift and lean”, the company pointed out. Moreover, this system does not require any upgrade to the rolling stock, as the CTS wagon unit is mounted on the existing locking mechanism.
Ideally, the CTS would be installed in various hubs. Trucks would pick up goods within a 50 kilometres radius and bring it to these hubs to move their containers on the trains for the longest leg of the journey. Then, the system would help moving the containers back on road vehicles for last-mile deliveries.