Climate Protection

Combined Transport is environmentally friendly

In our globalized world, the economy thrives on the exchange of goods. The impact on the environment also depends on the choice of the right transport mode. In Combined Container Transport, a container’s journey depends on the most suitable means of transport. All railcars used in the Roland trains are equipped with composite brake blocks (K-blocks), which are also known as whisper brakes.

The main leg – the longest route – is done by train. We only use trucks with the most modern emissions standards for the “last mile”.

To give an example: electronics from the Far East are shipped to Hamburg in a container. There the container is loaded onto a Roland train and railed to Enns. A truck picks up the container in Container Terminal Enns (CTE) and the container will be trucked to final destination, a wholesale company in Ansfelden. If the Hamburg to Ansfelden route were to be driven exclusively by truck, almost 1 ton more CO₂ would be generated, quite apart from the higher costs for direkt truck. The environmental impact in this example is that more than 920 kilometers avoided by road – amounting to almost 1 ton of CO₂ saved.

Efficient electric transport

While a truck can only transport one container, a Roland train can carry around 50 containers. This relieves the pressure on Europe’s roads immensely, avoiding environmentally harmful traffic jams. Combined Container Transport could also be called electric mobility in action: In Europe, the majority of all trains are powered by electric locomotives, Roland trains even 100%.

Roland is committed to climate protection

Environmental protection is something that everyone is committed to, and Roland is serious about its commitment. This is expressed in the fact that our employees go the extra mile every day to convince our customers of the most environmentally friendly way of transporting goods, and offering them the flexibility they need, economically, by rail.

Digital advantage as a plus for the environment

Roland has invested heavily in digitization since the end of the 1990s. In our view, this is also an investment in climate-friendly freight transport. Because only the digitization of processes makes them more efficient, reduces waiting times and ensures that Combined Transport is highly attractive for our customers and partners.

Contribution to European climate targets

By 2050, 50% of road freight transport should be shifted to rail (or vessel). This is the goal of the EU White Paper on Transport. In Austria, freight transport should be climate-neutral by 2040. We contribute to this target with every Roland train.

Benefits for the environment and for budgets

When it comes to environmental protection, Combined Transport is the answer: in addition to the clear benefits to our climate, Combined Transport is also easy on transportation budgets. Combined Transport is significantly cheaper than direct truck over longer distances. And we are not only talking about extreme distances: even on the “Vienna – Vorarlberg” route, Combined Transport is financially worthwhile with a significantly reduced environmental impact.

• At least 80% fewer greenhouse gases
• 1 grams less CO₂ per tonne kilometre compared to truck
• Price advantage on routes of over 300 kilometers
• High flexibility through a well-developed rail network with maximum climate protection
• Reduced pressure on Europe’s road network

News

For more interessting posts concerning climate protection see our News section:

We are CombiNet partner

Roland is a committed member of CombiNet, the network for the promotion of Combined Transport. Together with our network, we are committed making Combined Transport even stronger.