However, you then need to have multiple tractor units with drivers in multiple cities + also the train engine, all coordinating for the handovers.

I'm definitely not saying EV trucks with batteries + trolleys are better, but there is some simplicity that's not replicated with the rail solutions.

And I have read sofixa's (somewhat mocking) comment as if they are saying that rail is simpler.

Here's a picture :

https://www.eurotransport.de/artikel/kombinierter-verkehr-ro...

I'm making assumptions here. But lets' say loading the trucks and the wait until the train leaves takes 90 minutes. Unloading them at destination takes another 30 minutes (again, I don't know the real figures, but this feels somewhat realistic).

So, there will be a certain not insignificant amount of time being lost before the train moves. Time, which is valuable in the transportation business.

Another reason may be that it's really geared for specific topological environments.

There are few routes through the alps and they universally require tunnels (there are mountain pass routes, but those are closed in winter and partially inaccessible for trucks). Such a situation invites such logistical solutions.

Add to this that Switzerland is one of the main transit countries through the alps and that - with very few exceptions - trucks are not permitted to drive at night (after 10pm) or on Sundays. So, loading your truck onto a train and blitz from Freiburg (Germany) straight to Genoa by train may make a lot of sense.

The situation is not quite as ideal as described here. While it's definitely a goal to move transit onto train infrastructure, especially on the Italian side, still leaves much to be desired.

Germany has a small-scale test of overhead lines for trucks: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/03/business/electric-trucks-...

And the accompanying ridicule for recreating a railroad, just with less efficiency because tires consume a good chunk of the truck's energy in deformation and because you need way more drivers than if you would just put the damn bunch of trucks onto flatbed rail carriages.

The entire project was nothing more than a smokescreen by the automotive industry.

“Numerous studies have come to the conclusion that overhead cable trucks, despite the high infrastructure costs, are the most cost-effective option,” the ministry said.