>>1243779>Yeah, but we don't call them "container portals." They're either called terminals (as in "intermodal/container terminal), or yards.Portals are generally the term used to describe a point where containers can be left off by a road vehicle to disappear into the system. As far as I can tell, these portals will take a container, and will put them on the right train for the right direction to either come out the other end by rail, or end up at a port to be loaded onto a ship going elsewhere. As of a few years ago, it can also be routed to somewhere where it can then be transferred onto a Russian container train going towards China.
For the most part, the main purpose for containerised trains is either for the fast shipping from some inland location to another inland location, from an inland location to connect onto a ship, or as of now, connect to the train to China.
Outside of Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Austria, Switzerland and maybe one or two other Eastern European countries, there just isn't the infrastructure available for rail frieght, at least not containerised rail freight.
>Bulk freight is still a big deal here, just as I'd imagine it is there. How else are you supposed to move thousands of tons of coal efficiently, after all? Can't exactly put all that on trucks.It is, but the necessity to change the stock, or the linking and unlinking of wagons isn't as necessary there. That said, Europe is moving away from coal, mostly for the pollution aspect, but also because France is basically like 80% nuclear anyway, and everywhere else just runs on natural gas or power station oil, and pipes are better for that.
