an apparatus for transporting and for conveying fabrics , individual articles and other material , in particular for feeding web - shaped material into a machine which processes it , for example a paper web into a printing machine , with at least one conveyor element formed for engagement with the material , a guide rail , in and / or along which the conveyor element can move , and a drive device comprising the conveyor element in order to convey the material into and / or through the machine via the conveyor element , wherein the drive device is formed by an electric linear motor whose secondary part or rotor device comprises and / or bears the conveyor element and whose primary part or stator device is mounted in a stationary manner on the guide rail , and the guide rail is formed from a non - magnetic and non - conducting or electrically insulating material , preferably a plastics material , and comprises therein one or more electrical conductor strands to which the stator device is coupled and / or connected so as to be energized .