A rail land bridge refers to the transport of containers

Containerization

Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...

 by rail between port

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

s on either side of a land mass, such as North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. Hofstra University

Hofstra University

Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...

 defines a rail land bridge as having two characteristics: First, there is a single bill of lading

Bill of lading

A bill of lading is a document issued by a carrier to a shipper, acknowledging that specified goods have been received on board as cargo for conveyance to a named place for delivery to the consignee who is usually identified...

 issued by the freight forwarder

Freight forwarder

A freight forwarder, forwarder, or forwarding agent is a person or company that organizes shipments for individuals or other companies and may also act as a carrier...

 that covers the entire journey, and second, the freight remains in the same container for the total transit. One example of a rail land bridge is the Eurasian Land Bridge

Eurasian Land Bridge

The Eurasian Land Bridge, sometimes called the New Silk Road, is a term used to describe the rail transport route for moving freight and passengers overland from Pacific seaports in Siberia and China to seaports in Europe...

. A transcontinental railroad

Transcontinental railroad

A transcontinental railroad is a contiguous network of railroad trackage that crosses a continental land mass with terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single railroad, or over those owned or controlled by multiple railway companies...

can be a type of land bridge.