Landbridges provide a level of continuity between maritime and long-distance inland transport networks. There are four main types of landbridges depending on the destination of the transoceanic cargo:
- Landbridge. Using a landmass as a link in a maritime transport chain involving a foreign origin and destination. The continental mass is used as a link (bridge) between two maritime systems. The transport mode is almost exclusively rail because it offers faster long-distance service. This type of link is not highly used in the North American context as it is more convenient for Europe bound cargo from Asia to use the maritime route instead or the emerging Eurasian landbridge for niche cargo.
- Mini landbridge. Using a landmass as a link in a transport chain involving a foreign origin and a destination at the end of the landmass. It involves a foreign origin, but the destination is a port reached from another port of the same continental mass. The TranSiberian was the first minibridge to be in operation in 1967, linking harbors of the Pacific coast to harbors of the Baltic and Atlantic coasts of Europe. However, problems with railway gauging between Russia and Western Europe impose some delays as rail cargo needs to be transloaded. Still, a Europe-Asia link (Eurasian Landbridge or New Silk Road) that covers Siberia and ends at the Pacific coast of Russia or China is receiving serious consideration.
- Micro landbridge. Using a landmass as a link in a transport chain involving a foreign origin and an inland destination. It involves a link between a foreign origin and an inland destination via a port of entry. A common type of service for Asian cargo bound to an inland North American market. The minibridge and the microbridge took more time to implement in North America because of the regulation of the maritime and railway sectors, which impeded collaboration (such as joint ventures) among companies of different transport sectors.
- Reverse landbridge. It is similar to a microbridge, but the port of entry is on another facade than the most direct maritime route. Through a maritime detour, reaching an inland destination by using the closest maritime facade instead of the landbridge. In North America, this implies for transpacific trade the usage of the Panama Canal through an all-water route to reach an inland destination through an East Coast port. This type of landbridge has experienced remarkable growth with the usage of the Panama Canal to reach East Coast ports by an all-water route from Asia. The expansion of the Panama Canal in 2016 has increased the significance of this type of landbridge service with gateways such as Savannah and Houston. For Europe, this would imply for cargo coming from Pacific Asia using a Northern European port such as Antwerp, Rotterdam, or Hamburg to reach an inland destination in Southern Europe.
Although each of these terms refers to a specific inland transport service configuration, the term landbridge has increasingly been used as a generic term to label any form of long-distance inland transportation or an inland service bypassing a maritime segment.