INTERMODAL CAPACITY BROKER
ICB is Rail-Flow's marketplace for short-term intermodal slots - 800+ terminal-to-terminal connections across 25 countries. Find operators, ferry companies, and trucking carriers from one platform. Enter a request, compare offers, book in three steps. Free to use, live since 2021.
BUILT FOR THREE ROLES
ICB serves three roles on one platform: forwarders book slots, carriers sell first and last mile trucking, operators sell train capacity. Whichever side you are on, ICB connects you to the rest of the market - no spreadsheets, no phone calls.
FOR FORWARDERS
Today: rising tolls, CO₂ taxation, sectoral driving bans, and driver shortages are squeezing road margins. Meanwhile, finding one available intermodal slot still means emails and phone calls to multiple operators — inconsistent formats, no central overview.
With ICB: enter your transport request once. See available intermodal capacity in one view. Compare prices and lead times. Book directly — confirmation automated.
Today: pre- and on-carriage jobs come in by phone and email, one forwarder at a time. Trucks run empty between terminals, and getting onto a new forwarder's partner list takes weeks of direct contact.
With ICB: publish trucking capacity per terminal and zone, set your prices, accept or reject bookings in one click. Higher utilisation and extra revenue without more staff and a bigger pool of forwarders than your existing ones.
Today: unused train capacity due to lack of visibility. High manual effort for capacity inquiries. Onboarding new customers by direct contact takes weeks. Idle slots cost money.
With ICB: publish your capacities by terminal, day, and shift, set your prices, and confirm bookings with one click. Reach forwarders across Europe without increasing sales staff and connect ICB to your ITMS to avoid double entry.
How it works
ICB makes intermodal booking as simple as online shopping - for both single-leg moves and door-to-door transports with pre- and on-carriage.
Specify your origin, destination, loading unit (container / trailer / swap body), date, and any special requirements - dangerous goods, waste, equipment needs. The platform shows available carriers and operators that match your criteria in real time.
See available intermodal capacity side by side - operator route, transit time, price, conditions. Filter by direct rail or door-to-door (with pre-carriage and on-carriage). One consistent comparison view across options.
Confirm your booking with one click. The carrier receives the booking, accepts or rejects, and the status updates in real time. Live transport status updates from the carrier flow back automatically. No follow-up calls, no chasing.
KEY FEATURES
Four feature areas anchor everything ICB does. Click through to see each in detail.
Find available intermodal slots across multiple operators and book directly — without per-operator portals, phone calls, or email chains. Filter by route, loading unit type, date, and dangerous-goods support. Compare price and transit time side by side. Confirmation is automated; the carrier sees your booking in their dashboard the moment you submit.
Beyond the rail leg, ICB lets you book pre-carriage and on-carriage trucking through the same platform. Connect with trucking carriers at origin and destination terminals — eliminating the missing-partner-network barrier that has historically slowed intermodal adoption among forwarders without their own trucking fleet.
Carriers update transport status directly in the platform — pickup, delivery, deviation. Forwarders see the live status in their booking dashboard with a full audit trail. For carriers running Rail-Flow's Intermodal TMS (ITMS), status updates flow automatically via the ICB ↔ ITMS integration — eliminating manual entry on both sides.
Find new partners and reach every relevant railway undertaking and forwarder simultaneously with a single click — no more emails, phone calls, or provider research. Filter by operating region, train transport type, dangerous goods capability, and certifications. The PTM provider directory covers 300+ companies across 27 countries, with company profiles, contact persons, network lanes, and 5-star response ratings.
MORE FEATURES
Beyond one-click booking, door-to-door, and live tracking, ICB covers the operational features both forwarders and carriers need on a working intermodal platform.
Capacity Publishing for Carriers
Carriers publish capacities by terminal, day, and shift. Daily-capacity editing on short notice. Dangerous-goods and waste rules per terminal. Booking confirmations and cancellations in one click.
Flexible Pricing Logic
Set prices by date, route, loading unit type, dangerous goods, and zone. Flat rates or progressive (per-km or per-kg), with min and max thresholds. Smart price selection per booking.
Network Overview
See all bookable connections on one map - corridors, operators, trucking carriers. Browse before you commit to registration. Available without login.
ICB ↔ ITMS Integration
Every option shows the CO₂ saving versus an all-road move, calculated per transport. Forwarders get emissions figures ready for customer and sustainability reporting - the hard evidence behind the shift from road to rail.
Multi-Role Support
Three roles per organisation: operator, carrier, forwarder. Switch your default profile to fit how your team uses the platform. Some companies operate as both carrier and forwarder.
Equipment & Service Filtering
Specify equipment requirements - loading and unloading gear, safety equipment, special services. Capacities only surface if the carrier has the equipment at the terminal in question.
INTERMODAL CAPACITY BROKER
Self-registration in minutes. Compare available intermodal capacity and CO₂ savings across different options.
INTERMODAL CAPACITY BROKER
Self-registration in minutes. Compare available intermodal capacity and CO₂ savings across different options.
DISCOVER ICB
Talk to our team.
Margarita Trofimenko
Customer Success Manager
+49 699 675 89 31
m.trofimenko@rail-flow.com
What we hear most often about the Intermodal Capacity Broker. Anything missing? Reach out using the contact form below.
Have a question that's not covered here? Reach out and we'll get back to you within one business day.
ICB is Rail-Flow's marketplace for short-term intermodal slot booking. It connects three roles: forwarders booking intermodal capacity, carriers selling first and last mile trucking, and operators selling spare train capacity as a digital sales channel. Live since 2021, free to use today.
Free to use for both sides today. Forwarders see prices set by carriers — flat rates per loading unit or progressive (per-km / per-kg). Carriers set their own pricing per route, date, unit type, and conditions. Rail-Flow is currently growing the network; future pricing may include premium features, but signup today is free of commitment.
Each marketplace serves a different sourcing need. ICB is for short-term intermodal slot booking (rail + truck pre / on-carriage). PTM is for rail freight tenders (block trains, single wagon load, intermodal). RSB is for short-term locomotive leasing. RCB is for single wagon load capacity discovery. They share the Rail-Flow marketplace family but have distinct ICPs, workflows, and product maturity.
For carriers running Rail-Flow's Intermodal TMS (ITMS), the ICB ↔ ITMS integration handles timetables, prices, booking data, and status updates automatically — no double entry. For other TMS platforms, custom integrations are possible — talk to our team about your specific stack and we will explore options.
Self-registration takes a few minutes. Choose your role at signup: operator (provides train capacities), carrier (provides first / last mile trucking), or forwarder (books intermodal slots). Some organisations register multiple roles. Our customer success team reaches out shortly after signup to help with first capacities or first bookings.
Every offer shows the CO₂ saving versus a comparable all-road move, calculated per transport. The comparison uses distance, loading unit, and mode-specific emission factors for each leg: rail plus pre- and on-carriage. Forwarders can use the figures for customer and sustainability reporting.
MORE PRODUCTS
ICB is one of four marketplace products. For different sourcing needs - block trains, single wagonload, locomotive leasing - explore the rest of the family.
The marketplace for rail freight tenders - block trains, single wagonload, intermodal. 300+ providers across 27 countries. Free to try.
Resource Sharing Broker (RSB) for short-term locomotive leasing. Rail Capacity Broker (RCB) for wagen groups and single wagon load capacity discovery. Two more marketplaces in the family.
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For carriers running intermodal operations: full transport management with ICB integration built in. Move from selling spare capacity to running your full operation on Rail-Flow.
