Line haul (scheduled service)

Scheduled line haul ("Linienverkehr") in road freight means transports that run regularly on a timetable between fixed points. Unlike a one-off trip, route, departure and arrival times are set before any shipment is booked.

The main forms

• Line run: one trip on a fixed route, for example daily from the warehouse to the depot and back
• Night line: departure in the evening, arrival before the shift starts at the destination, typical between hubs of groupage and parcel networks
• Shuttle: several round trips a day between plant, warehouse or depot
• Meeting-point service: two vehicles drive towards each other and swap trailers or swap bodies halfway

What matters

Punctuality matters more in line haul than on any other route, because goods are transferred onward at the destination: if the line is late, the freight misses its connection. Kilometres, operating time, toll and waiting time at the dock drive the calculation. On longer lines, driving and rest times have to fit the timetable.

Practical example

A wholesaler sends goods from its warehouse in Cologne to a depot in the Ruhr area every evening at 7 pm. Vehicle, route and times are always the same, and billing is per run. A transport company takes over the line permanently and assigns a driver and vehicle to it.

Line runs are one kind of regular route. Maxmove awards such routes to transport companies through a transport tender; see regular routes for subcontractors.