Rail Freight & Intermodal Rail
What is rail freight?
Rail freight moves containers or bulk cargo overland by train — and on the right corridors it fills the gap between ocean (slow, cheap) and air (fast, expensive). Modern intermodal rail services run on fixed-schedule block trains with door-to-door transit times that can beat ocean by weeks at a fraction of air costs.
Holo Cargo includes rail legs in multimodal quotes and can book standalone rail moves on supported corridors.
When rail beats ocean and air
Rail occupies a distinct cost-time niche:
| Mode | Typical cost | Typical speed |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean LCL/FCL | Lowest | Slowest (3–6 weeks transcontinental) |
| Rail intermodal | Mid-range | 2–4 weeks (China–Europe corridor) |
| Air freight | Highest | 2–5 days |
Rail's advantage is clearest when:
- Time pressure rules out ocean but air is prohibitively expensive for the cargo weight
- Green supply chain targets — rail emits significantly less CO₂ per tonne-km than air
- Cargo is unsuitable for air — too heavy, too bulky, or DG-classified in a way that restricts air carriage
- Origin or destination is landlocked — rail avoids the port-to-port constraint of ocean
Key rail corridors
China–Europe (New Silk Road / BRI rail)
The busiest intermodal rail corridor globally. Block trains connect Chinese manufacturing hubs (Chengdu, Xi'an, Wuhan, Yiwu) to European rail terminals (Duisburg, Hamburg, Warsaw, Madrid). Transit: typically 14–21 days, versus 28–35 days for ocean via the Suez route.
Eurasia corridors
Trans-Siberian and Trans-Caspian multimodal routes connecting Central Asia, Russia, and Europe. Subject to routing constraints — confirm availability at booking.
Inland and domestic rail
Long-distance domestic rail for heavy or bulk cargo where road capacity is constrained. Often combined with road drayage for first and last mile.
Container types on rail
Standard ISO containers (20GP, 40GP, 40HC) are used on most intermodal rail services. Flat-rack and open-top are available on select corridors for out-of-gauge cargo.
Rail as part of a multimodal move
Rail almost always combines with road legs (drayage to/from the rail terminal). For sea-rail combinations — ocean to a gateway port, then rail inland — see multimodal freight, where Holo coordinates the entire chain under a single booking.