diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/notifications/notify-company.util.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/notifications/notify-company.util.ts
index e3b2fd80a..467b172ba 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/notifications/notify-company.util.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/notifications/notify-company.util.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 import { DataSource } from 'typeorm';
+import { Logger } from '@nestjs/common';
 
+import { NotificationAudience, NotificationType } from '@edr/types';
 import { NotificationsService } from './notifications.service';
+import { NotificationInboxService } from '../notification-inbox/notification-inbox.service';
 import {
   companyNotifyEmailExpr,
   companyNotifyPhoneExpr,
@@ -42,3 +45,41 @@ export async function sendCompanyChannels(
     }
   }
 }
+
+/**
+ * Tell the customer their export carriage acceptance sheet is ready to
+ * download from the portal — the sheet itself is generated on demand by
+ * BookingsService.carriageAcceptanceSheet, never stored, so this is a
+ * "ready" notice + link, not an attachment (the email pipeline carries text
+ * only). Shared by every path that makes a booking's handover final: the
+ * warehouse gate on receive, and direct truck-to-train on load (that cargo
+ * never sees a warehouse, so its handover moment IS the load).
+ */
+export async function notifyCarriageAcceptanceReady(
+  dataSource: DataSource,
+  notifications: NotificationsService,
+  inbox: NotificationInboxService,
+  bookingId: string,
+  logger: Logger,
+): Promise<void> {
+  try {
+    const [b]: Array<{ companyId: string | null; reference: string }> = await dataSource.query(
+      `SELECT company_id AS "companyId", reference FROM freight.bookings WHERE id = $1 AND deleted_at IS NULL`,
+      [bookingId],
+    );
+    if (!b?.companyId) return;
+    const body = `Your carriage acceptance sheet for booking ${b.reference} is ready to download from the portal.`;
+    await inbox.notify({
+      recipients: { companyId: b.companyId },
+      audience: NotificationAudience.PORTAL,
+      type: NotificationType.DOCUMENT_ACTION,
+      title: 'Carriage acceptance sheet ready',
+      body,
+      link: `/bookings/${bookingId}`,
+      data: { bookingId, reference: b.reference },
+    });
+    await sendCompanyChannels(dataSource, notifications, b.companyId, body);
+  } catch (err) {
+    logger.warn(`Carriage acceptance ready notify failed for ${bookingId}: ${(err as Error).message}`);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/train-scheduling/booking-journey.service.spec.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/train-scheduling/booking-journey.service.spec.ts
index 0a8cc99fe..ea936465e 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/train-scheduling/booking-journey.service.spec.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/train-scheduling/booking-journey.service.spec.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@ describe('BookingJourneyService.autoPlaceOnFreedWagons', () => {
     {} as never, // yardFacilities
     {} as never, // facilityHandling
     { emit: jest.fn() } as never, // events
+    {} as never, // notifications
+    {} as never, // inbox
   );
 
   const schedule = { id: 'sched-1', trainSetId: 'ts-1' };
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/train-scheduling/booking-journey.service.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/train-scheduling/booking-journey.service.ts
index bf6ab5069..56b28fb7f 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/train-scheduling/booking-journey.service.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/train-scheduling/booking-journey.service.ts
@@ -24,7 +24,10 @@ import { WagonBookingAllocation } from '../train-schedules/entities/wagon-bookin
 import { Wagon } from '../wagons/entities/wagon.entity';
 import { WagonMovement } from '../wagons/entities/wagon-movement.entity';
 import { TrainCheckpointEvent } from './entities/train-checkpoint-event.entity';
-import { assertExportReceivedWithGrn } from '../../common/export-received-gate';
+import { assertExportReceivedWithGrn, DIRECT_TO_TRAIN } from '../../common/export-received-gate';
+import { NotificationsService } from '../notifications/notifications.service';
+import { NotificationInboxService } from '../notification-inbox/notification-inbox.service';
+import { notifyCarriageAcceptanceReady } from '../notifications/notify-company.util';
 
 /**
  * Per-booking journey along a train's corridor — for EVERY trade direction.
@@ -52,6 +55,8 @@ export class BookingJourneyService {
     private readonly yardFacilities: YardFacilitiesService,
     private readonly facilityHandling: FacilityHandlingService,
     private readonly events: EventEmitter2,
+    private readonly notifications: NotificationsService,
+    private readonly inbox: NotificationInboxService,
     @Optional() private readonly milestoneService?: ClearanceMilestoneService,
   ) {}
 
@@ -76,6 +81,21 @@ export class BookingJourneyService {
     // Export cargo must be in the warehouse with a GRN before it can be loaded,
     // however it arrived and whatever it is allocated to.
     await assertExportReceivedWithGrn(this.dataSource, booking);
+    // Direct truck-to-train cargo never sees the warehouse, so loading IS its
+    // handover moment — the carriage acceptance sheet must go out to the
+    // customer right here, not on a receive event that will never fire.
+    if (
+      booking.tradeDirection === 'EXPORT' &&
+      booking.exportHandoverMode === DIRECT_TO_TRAIN
+    ) {
+      await notifyCarriageAcceptanceReady(
+        this.dataSource,
+        this.notifications,
+        this.inbox,
+        booking.id,
+        this.logger,
+      );
+    }
 
     const now = new Date();
     await this.dataSource.transaction(async (manager) => {
diff --git a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/warehouses/warehouse-inventory.service.ts b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/warehouses/warehouse-inventory.service.ts
index 239485d3c..163b5bcc1 100644
--- a/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/warehouses/warehouse-inventory.service.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-freight-api/src/modules/warehouses/warehouse-inventory.service.ts
@@ -28,7 +28,10 @@ import type { InterchangeDocument } from '../interchange-documents/entities/inte
 import { LastMileService } from '../last-mile/last-mile.service';
 import { UpdateLastMileDto } from '../last-mile/dto/update-last-mile.dto';
 import { NotificationsService } from '../notifications/notifications.service';
-import { sendCompanyChannels } from '../notifications/notify-company.util';
+import {
+  sendCompanyChannels,
+  notifyCarriageAcceptanceReady as notifyCarriageAcceptanceReadyShared,
+} from '../notifications/notify-company.util';
 import {
   companyNotifyPhoneExpr,
   primaryContactUserJoin,
@@ -6167,26 +6170,13 @@ export class WarehouseInventoryService {
    * fires right after receive, not at marshalling.
    */
   private async notifyCarriageAcceptanceReady(bookingId: string): Promise<void> {
-    try {
-      const [b]: Array<{ companyId: string | null; reference: string }> = await this.dataSource.query(
-        `SELECT company_id AS "companyId", reference FROM freight.bookings WHERE id = $1 AND deleted_at IS NULL`,
-        [bookingId],
-      );
-      if (!b?.companyId) return;
-      const body = `Your carriage acceptance sheet for booking ${b.reference} is ready to download from the portal.`;
-      await this.inbox.notify({
-        recipients: { companyId: b.companyId },
-        audience: NotificationAudience.PORTAL,
-        type: NotificationType.DOCUMENT_ACTION,
-        title: 'Carriage acceptance sheet ready',
-        body,
-        link: `/bookings/${bookingId}`,
-        data: { bookingId, reference: b.reference },
-      });
-      await sendCompanyChannels(this.dataSource, this.notifications, b.companyId, body);
-    } catch (err) {
-      this.logger.warn(`Carriage acceptance ready notify failed for ${bookingId}: ${(err as Error).message}`);
-    }
+    await notifyCarriageAcceptanceReadyShared(
+      this.dataSource,
+      this.notifications,
+      this.inbox,
+      bookingId,
+      this.logger,
+    );
   }
 
   private async notifyOwnerInventoryReceived(params: {