The new service will operate three weekly round-trips, but CargoBeamer is planning to increase the frequency to 6 weekly round-trips by Q2 2026. The company is also looking to extend the service into other parts of northern Italy.

The cancelled Rolling Highway

The introduction of this new Liege-Domodossola service is partially a response to the cancellation of the Rolling Highway, CargoBeamer tells RailFreight.com. The company can pick up a part of the volume previously serviced by the Rolling Highway service, despite offering a different route and not transporting trucks and truck drivers. CargoBeamer sees a gap in the cross-alpine market for semi-trailer transportation, especially non-craneable ones, and is looking to start more services in the region in the future.

As RailFreight.com reported in December, operator RAlpin had to cancel its Rolling Highway service in part due to the impactful construction works in Germany. CargoBeamer admits that the works will also affect its operations on the Liège-Domodossola route, although emphasises that it likely won’t pose “any major challenge”. It won’t have the same detrimental effect.

The Rolling Highway likely faced increased cancellation rates as a result of the construction works, because it could not be as flexible in its operations due to its responsibility to transport trucks and their drivers. CargoBeamer offers unaccompanied connections, which means that it can more easily run delayed trains and keep operations going.

Freight volumes have been heavily impacted by ongoing infrastructure works on both sides of the border, but specifically by those between Stresa and Arona in Italy. These works started last year and will continue at least until 2027, which is too long for business to cope.

Competition from Gotthard

What’s more, the Gotthard Base Tunnel has proven more competitive in this context, and has captured a lot of North-South volumes through Switzerland. “From a production efficiency point of view, Lötschberg-Simplon is at a disadvantage”, explains Vender. There isn’t any prospect that anything will change in the coming years.

As a result, the Domodossola only has recently seen only two rail services per week, which is not enough to justify keeping the staff depot open. The 15 employees will keep their jobs but will need to be transferred elsewhere.

“Specifically, the route from Bern to Wankdorf station will descend over a ramp of around 290 metres, lead through a tunnel of around 440 metres and then emerge again over a ramp of around 240 metres just before Ostermundigen.” The project will cost the equivalent of 750,5 million euros.

“With the new ‘Wankdorf Tunnel’, more trains can run on the route, as freight and passenger trains no longer travel on the same tracks and do not have to “wait for” each other” SBB adds.

Basel – Domodossola to benefit

The line between Bern Wankdorf and Münsingen is currently operating at full capacity, the Swiss infrastructure manager explains. Separating freight and passenger traffic will significantly boost capacity. For freight, it would mean additional capacity between Bern and Thun, greater stability in the Bern area and between Basel and Domodossola, Italy.

The earliest possible start date for the construction works is mid-2026, says SBB. The company expects the work to last for at least 13 years. “The long construction period is due to the extremely tight space conditions in the construction perimeter. The work is being carried out in the narrow corridor between the already very busy railway lines and the motorway bridge and while the railway is still in operation.”

CargoBeamer is now looking to support the construction of two of its terminals in Kaldenkirchen and Domodossola with the money. The work is supposed to start in 2025 and finish by 2026. Once finished, the two terminals will bring the total number of CargoBeamer terminals in Europe up to three. The company already has a terminal in Calais, France.

Boosting the modal shift

“We are excited for our capital partnership with OIC, in which we have laid important cornerstones to make CargoBeamer the intermodal champion that drives the much-needed modal shift of freight from road to rail,” commented Nicolas Albrecht, CEO of CargoBeamer.

“From the first day, OIC has proven to be a visionary partner dedicated to help realising state-of-the-art infrastructure that allows to decarbonise land-based transportation in Europe. Our terminals in Kaldenkirchen and Domodossola are perfectly placed on the ends of the most-frequented intermodal corridor in Europe, and the unmatched density and speed of our rail connections in between will be instrumental in shifting freight to rail at scale.”

For its part, OIC had some kind words to say about CargoBeamer as well. “CargoBeamer’s proprietary technology will be instrumental to enabling the road to rail freight transition, which aligns with our objective to build cost-advantaged logistics solutions that also enhance decarbonisation efforts,” said Jeremy Glick, Investment Partner and Head of Infra Growth at OIC. “We are confident that CargoBeamer will drive the modal shift to rail in Europe with its two extremely innovative new intermodal terminals.”

“By integrating the economically vibrant Stuttgart/Kornwestheim region into our network, we are providing an essential link for businesses to leverage the benefits of rail between Germany and Italy.”

Semi-trailers across the Alps

“The Stuttgart – Domodossola line complements the company’s existing Kaldenkirchen – Domodossola route, which has already facilitated the transportation of thousands of semi-trailers over the Alps each month”, the company writes. “By enabling trailer transport without tractors or drivers, CargoBeamer allows logistics providers to optimise resource allocation while significantly reducing their carbon footprint.”

With the closure of these two lines going to Domodossola, Italy is running the risk of remaining temporarily isolated from the rest of the continent in terms of rail connectivity. The main border crossing with France, via the Frejus Railway, has been closed since August 2023 and will be until early 2025. Moreover, the other main connection between Italy and Switzerland, the Gotthard Base Tunnel, has also been (partially) closed since August 2023 and should reopen at the beginning of September.

Closures all along the Rhine-Alpine Corridor

When it comes to the Rhine-Alpine section in Germany, the Rhine Valley line between Rastatt and Baden-Baden will also be closed between 9 and 30 August, just like the Novara-Domodossola line in Italy. Some industry players from France, Germany and Switzerland, led by Hupac, will establish a new route via the Offenburg-Wörth section to keep trains running. However, it is not yet clear if similar initiatives will be undertaken to find alternatives to the Novara-Domodossola line in Italy.

FOT will provide around 40 million euros to the Domodossola project (39.5 million euros, to be precise). Considering that FOT and EDA will raise 90 million euros jointly for CargoBeamer, it is understandable that EBA will contribute with approximately 50 million euros.

“The fact that public funds are now flowing into CargoBeamer on a large scale is ample proof of the importance of our technology – and yet another strong argument in the ongoing fundraising process”, commented Nicolas Albrecht, CEO of CargoBeamer.

More private funds

As mentioned above, an additional 50 million euros will be raised from private investments, making the total investment capital secured by CargoBeamer reach 140 million euros. All this funding is part of CargoBeamer’s Series B financing round that will remain open until summer so that more investors can express their interest.

With regard to the private investment capital, CargoBeamer’s CFO Markus Fischer stressed that it is vital for the company’s future. On his behalf, Hans Albrecht, leading the group of private investors via the venture capital firm Nordwind Ventures, underlined that “CargoBeamer has an enormous economic potential,” also claiming that the company has “established itself as the most scalable solution, and its growth must now be accelerated.”

Also read:

• Swiss Council asks for public funds to invest in private rail freight facilities

• CargoBeamer wants to build a terminal near German-Czech border

The Domodossola-Kaldenkirchen service includes the rail transportation of two UPS swap bodies with CargoBeamer equipment. On the other hand, the new Italy-Greece service focusses on semi-trailers, as a spokesperson for CargoBeamer told RailFreight.com. “UPS shows interested in expanding our cooperation and we are receiving positive feedback from the tests”, they added. However, these are still the very early stages of this initiative, with further details still needing to be ironed out.

Also read:

• CargoBeamer wants to build a terminal near German-Czech border
• Switzerland to invest in CargoBeamer’s Domodossola terminal
• Audi and Helrom put more car parts on the rail

Switzerland investing abroad

The initiative to invest in the terminal in Domodossola is part of a larger Swiss strategy to finance rail freight projects in its neighbouring countries. For example, the FOT is also pouring 67 million euros into the construction of a new rail terminal near Milan, which will be equipped with two six-track bundles and six gantry cranes to handle 750-metre-long trains. Moreover, the Helvetic Federation claimed to be ready and willing to finance infrastructure projects along the Rhine-Alpine TEN-T Corridor in France and Italy.

Also read:

• Switzerland asks ERA to update EU contract on the use of freight wagons
• UPS puts parcels on rail with CargoBeamer
• Rail freight across the Alps dropped, but not because of the Gotthard

Other than being UPS’ first time using the rail in Europe, it is also CargoBeamer’s first service specifically for parcels. As a spokesperson from the company told RailFreight.com, they have similar partnerships, for example with Amazon, but these services deal with larger goods rather than parcels.

More parcels on rail in Europe?

The initiative of having more parcels travelling by rail rather than road is being pushed by various EU countries, for examplem Germany. At the end of 2022, the German rail freight industry asked the Ministry of Transport to establish a framework to create the conditions for a significant modal shift.

Moreover, various companies have been testing similar projects. DPD launched a service connecting Duisburg and Leipzig at the end of 2022, while GLS introduced a rail connection for parcels between the MegaHub Lehrte and Nuremberg. For both these projects, the companies partnered with Kombiverkher.

Since the end of 2023, parcels are back on the rail also in Ukraine. The national post company Ukrposhta has been cooperating with the National Post of Estonia Omniva, Ukrainian Railways and Slovakian company Interport to find alternative solutions to road transport. This solution, reinstated in Ukraine after 21 years, makes parcel deliveries within and across its borders easier and faster.

Also read:

• DHL’s cargo tram service in German city gets scrapped
• UPM partners with DB Cargo on sustainable supply chains
• Maersk still in the race for DB Schenker’s acquisition, says CEO
• Danish DSV becomes frontrunner for DB Schenker acquisition