A distribution system for transporting parcels or piece goods, the system comprising: - a hub , - a plurality of nodes logistically connected to the hub via at least one standard railway route , - a plurality of railway freight cars for transporting the parcels or piece goods in standard shipping containers from the hub to at least some of the nodes along said at least one standard railway route, - a plurality of trucks , each picking up a container at a specific node and delivering the parcels or piece goods to recipients along a logistically optimized route within a pre-defined area associated with the specific node, wherein each of said trucks comprises first transfer means for transferring a standard shipping container between a freight car and the truck itself and wherein the first transfer means are configured for transferring the shipping containers between the railway freight car and the truck, laterally and substantially horizontally, and where the hub comprises: - a parcel or piece goods management facility for loading and unloading the standard shipping containers, - a stationary container transport system for transporting the containers to and from the parcel or piece goods management facility, and - second transfer means for transferring the shipping containers between the plurality of railway freight cars and the stationary container transport system , and - where the second transfer means are configured for transferring the shipping containers between the plurality of railway freight cars and the stationary container transport system , laterally and substantially horizontally, and - where the stationary container transport system comprises means for transporting the shipping containers in a direction along the longitudinal extension of said container , and means for transporting the shipping containers in a direction perpendicular to said longitudinal extension of the containers . - a hub , - a plurality of nodes logistically connected to the hub via at least one standard railway route , - a plurality of railway freight cars for transporting the parcels or piece goods in standard shipping containers from the hub to at least some of the nodes along said at least one standard railway route, - a plurality of trucks , each picking up a container at a specific node and delivering the parcels or piece goods to recipients along a logistically optimized route within a pre-defined area associated with the specific node, wherein each of said trucks comprises first transfer means for transferring a standard shipping container between a freight car and the truck itself and wherein the first transfer means are configured for transferring the shipping containers between the railway freight car and the truck, laterally and substantially horizontally, and - a parcel or piece goods management facility for loading and unloading the standard shipping containers, - a stationary container transport system for transporting the containers to and from the parcel or piece goods management facility, and - second transfer means for transferring the shipping containers between the plurality of railway freight cars and the stationary container transport system , and - where the second transfer means are configured for transferring the shipping containers between the plurality of railway freight cars and the stationary container transport system , laterally and substantially horizontally, and - where the stationary container transport system comprises means for transporting the shipping containers in a direction along the longitudinal extension of said container , and means for transporting the shipping containers in a direction perpendicular to said longitudinal extension of the containers . <EOS>