Helrom receives the El-Mo Award for the inovativ freight semi-trailers for railroads

photo: Bruno Weissmann-Helrom/Linkedin/Helrom receives the El-Mo Award for the inovativ freight semi-trailers for railroads

Helrom and the Port of Vienna managed to reduce heavy haulage in Germany and Austria by 9,000 trucks, winning the El-Mo Award for "innovative loading technology in intermodal transportation."

Helrom Trail Rail makes all semi-trailers, including mega-trailers, suitable for rail transport completely without a crane. Each Helrom wagon can pick up two trailers on any simple loading/sidewalk/suspended track by turning sideways. The trailer is driven into the swing wagon by a terminal tractor (1 train = 40 trailers can be loaded/unloaded in 120 minutes).

To date, investments in this technology amount to more than EUR 10 million. By reducing the volume of heavy goods transported by 9,000 trucks, about 7,177 tons of CO2 were saved over about 1,007 kilometers of a total distance.

Source of video: Bruno Weissmann-Helrom/Linkedin

A trial operation of the semi-trailers was completed in August 2021, after which the decision was taken to expand regular transport on the Düsseldorf - Vienna route. Further expansion of the regular service envisages a doubling of the capacity of the first train to 18 and then 20 carriages. In addition, an additional train is planned to be deployed starting in September 2022. With the two trains, six round trips a week between Vienna and Düsseldorf are planned, which corresponds to a CO2 saving of 17,171 tons.

From now on, every semi-trailer can be loaded onto the rails thanks to Helrom loading technology, which makes every truck "rail-ready". On the one hand, this solution increases the acceptability of the offer and, on the other hand, contributes to supply reliability, which is threatened by a growing trend of personnel shortage among truck drivers.