Lorry-Rail

What Lorry-Rail does

Lorry-Rail S.A. is a Luxembourg-domiciled rail motorway operator that transports unaccompanied road trailers by rail between Bettembourg (Luxembourg) and Le Boulou/Mouguerre (France) on a 1,050 km cross-border corridor. The company was founded in 2006, building on Modalohr wagon technology that has been in operation since 2003, and operates three company-controlled intermodal terminals (Bettembourg, Le Boulou, Mouguerre) where standard semi-trailers are loaded onto and off rail wagons. Each train consists of 24 Modalohr wagons carrying 2 standard trailers each, giving a per-train capacity of 48 trailers, and the company runs up to 27 weekly round-trips, including Sundays and French bank holidays when road access for trucks is legally prohibited.

The service is sold exclusively B2B to logistics companies and transport operators seeking a cost-efficient, low-carbon alternative to long-distance road freight, with quote-based pricing and bookings handled through a small customer service team. Lorry-Rail is structured as a strategic joint venture owned 60.5% by VIIA (the French rail motorway operator), 34.5% by CFL (the Luxembourg national railway), and 5% by Lohr (the inventor of Modalohr wagon technology), with VIIA acting as the controlling parent. The company's value proposition rests on the combination of French truck-driving restrictions (Sunday/bank holiday bans), Modalohr technology compatibility with standard trailers, the ability to carry 44-ton trailers (17% above the 40-ton French road limit), and a claimed 5x reduction in CO2 emissions versus road haulage on the same corridor.

Name

Lorry-Rail

Legal name

Lorry-Rail S.A.

Website

https://lorry-rail.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lorry-Rail S.A. is a Luxembourg-based rail motorway operator that transports unaccompanied road trailers by rail between Bettembourg (Luxembourg) and Le Boulou/Mouguerre (France) using Modalohr wagon technology, serving B2B logistics companies and transport operators on a 1,050 km cross-border corridor.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rail Freight Transportation

NAICS

Line-Haul Railroads (482111)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Domestic Intermodal Rail-Truck (COFC/TOFC) (TLADAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Rail Ramp Operations (Lift-On/Lift-Off, TOFC/COFC) (TLAJAFAD)

Keywords

• Rail motorway services
• Intermodal freight transport
• Rail-road logistics
• Unaccompanied trailer transport
• Modalohr wagon system

Headquarters

HQ city

Dudelange

HQ country

Luxembourg

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Freight Transportation Fees: Revenue generated from transporting unaccompanied trailers and containers between terminals on the rail motorway corridor. Customers pay per shipment for moving trailers from Bettembourg (Luxembourg) to Le Boulou/Mouguerre (France) and vice versa. Service operates 27 weekly round-trips with capacity of 48 trailers per train.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Lorry-Rail operates the rail motorway link service between Luxembourg (Bettembourg) and France (Le Boulou and Mouguerre), transporting unaccompanied semi-trailers and containers by rail using Modalohr technology wagons. The service runs up to 27 weekly round-trips, supports 44-ton trailers, and operates 7 days a week including Sundays and French bank holidays when road access for trucks is forbidden.

Product overview

Lorry-Rail offers a unified rail motorway link service, operating as the rail-road link operator between Bettembourg (Luxembourg) and Le Boulou/Mouguerre (France). The core offering is the Rail Motorway Link Service, which uses Modalohr technology wagons to transport unaccompanied trailers by rail. The service provides environmental benefits through CO2 reduction (5x less emissions than road transport), operates 7 days a week including Sundays and bank holidays, and supports 44-ton trailers representing a 17% weight increase over standard 40-ton road limits. Each train consists of 24 Modalohr wagons carrying 2 trailers each, enabling 48-unit capacity per departure with up to 27 weekly roundtrips.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rail Motorway Link Service

Quantifiable outcome

• 5x less CO2 emissions: 0.2 tons per 1,050 km vs 1 ton by road
• +4 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Kombiverkehr: Kombiverkehr is a major German intermodal operator running unaccompanied-trailer and container rail services across Europe; it directly competes with Lorry-Rail for intermodal freight between Western Europe and southern markets.
• Hupac: Hupac is one of Europe's largest intermodal rail freight operators, moving trailers and containers across Switzerland, Italy, and the Benelux; it competes directly with Lorry-Rail for cross-border intermodal freight and shares the same Modalohr/road-rail technology approach.
• TX Logistik: TX Logistik operates intermodal and conventional rail freight services across Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, and the Benelux; its European intermodal network targets the same logistics operators and shippers as Lorry-Rail.

Broad incumbents

• DB Cargo: DB Cargo is Europe's largest rail freight operator and offers broad intermodal and block-train services across the continent; while not specialized in unaccompanied trailer rail motorways, it overlaps with Lorry-Rail on long-distance European freight corridors.
• VIIA: VIIA is the leading European rail motorway operator and Lorry-Rail's 60.5% controlling parent; it runs comparable unaccompanied-trailer rail services across multiple corridors in France and Europe, making it the closest comparable operator at a broader network scale.

Regional players

• BLS Cargo: BLS Cargo operates rail freight services primarily between Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and the Benelux; it competes with Lorry-Rail for trans-Alpine and Benelux-linked intermodal volumes, though its geography is more Alpine-centric.
• Novatrans: Novatrans is a French/European intermodal operator focused on combined road-rail transport, including unaccompanied trailer services; it is comparable to Lorry-Rail as a regional intermodal player but with a different geographic focus.

Emerging players

• CargoBeamer: CargoBeamer is developing a European network of rail terminals that load standard road trailers onto rail wagons using a horizontal-transfer technology similar in concept to Modalohr; it is an emerging competitor targeting the same unaccompanied-trailer freight niche.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lorry-rail

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lorry-Rail