Railways versus gigaliners
A majority of citizens in eight countries of the European Union (EU) say no to ‘mega trucks’ - lorries with a weight of 44 t or more and a length of 30 m - and favour combined transport over bigger and heavier trucks. These results were found in surveys conducted in nine EU states and involving over 8,000 online interviews.
The EU commission proposes to allow larger and longer trucks on all European roads. It argues that gigaliners could transport more goods per vehicle and thus reduce traffic.
However, studies show that the larger loading capacities would lower the prices for road haulage, which would lead to a shift back from rail to road, a coalition of European railfreight companies said and called for a strengthening of green rail transports. (ben)