The 20th century was characterized by very rapid industrial development, and consequently, the development of transport and its individual branches. However, the growth of road transport, especially by heavy goods vehicles, eventually became too burdensome for public roads. Its negative impact on the natural environment also began to be noticed.
The solution to this situation was the idea of transferring some of the cargo, previously carried exclusively by road transport, to rail transport. In this way, intermodal transport companies, more commonly known as combined transport companies, began to emerge.
The solution to this situation was the idea of transferring some of the cargo, previously carried exclusively by road transport, to rail transport. In this way, intermodal transport companies, more commonly known as combined transport companies, began to emerge.
The first of these companies was Cemat, established in 1953 in Italy, followed by the Dutch company Trailstar (1964) and the Belgian company T. R. W. (1965).
The very idea of creating an international association dealing with combined transport originated in Vienna. The initiator was Dr. Herbert Reul, who headed the Austrian company Hucke-trans, founded in the autumn of 1969. For further preparations, founding societies of combined transport companies from Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden were invited to Vienna.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 2002/2.