TNT Express has started to use road trains between Helsingborg, Sweden, and Puttgarden, Germany,to lower fuel consumption and emissions.
Each road train consists of a conventional tractor pulling one trailer and one “box”. This is anefficient alternative to the three trucks previously used to travel the 200km distance. Next tocost savings, the result is better allocation of equipment and drivers, who can return home moreoften, while transit times and service levels remain untouched, the Dutch company said.
Before January 2013, TNT Express trucks loaded with freight for Norway and Sweden drove all theway from Arnhem (Netherlands) and Hannover (Germany) to Helsingborg, TNT Express’ main hub for theNordic countries. The vehicles and their drivers would take the ferry in Puttgarden beforecontinuing northwards to Helsingborg, a 13 hours journey from Arnhem (one-way). Today, they stop inPuttgarden, swap trailers and boxes with the road trains coming from Helsingborg, and return totheir home base by the end of the day.
Road trains are a common sight in Australia, the US and Canada but in Europe, they are beingdebated, TNT pointed out. Proponents of road trains say they reduce road congestion and pollution,as fewer vehicles transport the same amount of goods. Critics argue they affect road safety, damageroads and increase the share of road transport in freight movement. However, a study by Sweden’sTransport Research Institute (TFK) in 2007 indicated that longer vehicles may actually improvetraffic safety because they reduce the number of vehicles on the road.
Today most EU countries have limited the length of vehicle combinations to a maximum of 18.75 m.On the other hand, Scandinavian countries have been traditionally open to using long freightvehicle combinations, the longest of up to 25.25 m. The Netherlands have conducted severalsuccessful trials of so-called “Longer and Heavier Vehicles” since 2000.
