While it is intended to green transport by allowing more weight & space for batteries, it actually endangers the Green Deal objectives for Europe because it optimizes only road transport while ignoring the huge impact on the overall transport sector.
“While we fully support the electrification of road transport, particularly when it focuses on short-distance truck transport, we strongly oppose the allowing increased weights & size for non-electrical trucks and for allowing cross-border flows not just for these trucks but also for Giga liners” says Dr. Sigrid Nikutta, CEO of DB Cargo and Chairwoman of Rail Freight Forward.
According to Sabrina De Filippis, CEO of Mercitalia Logistics, “the result will be a big loss for EU society and overall environment because of the negative impact on the transport system in terms of road safety and infrastructure maintenance, as well as an increase in CO2 emissions of up to 6.6 million tons more. The rail sector will suffer approximately a loss of about 21% in door-to-door rail freight transport”.
The CEO of ÖBB Rail Cargo Group, Clemens Först showed that instead of fewer trucks on EU roads, 10.5 million more truck rides are expected. Moreover, with truck load increasing by 10%, we can expect 46% more road damage for which the taxpayers will bear the burden.
Frédéric Delorme, CEO of Rail Logistics Europe and Fret SNCF highlighted, “it is impossible to understand why the road sector, consuming 7 times more energy than rail, even if fully electrified, is favored over rail or other green and less energy-consuming alternatives, given the scarcity of green electricity in the EU”.
“Greening the transport sector by just introducing heavier trucks and Giga liners is counterproductive. With a holistic view of the transport sector, however, a win-win is possible”, says Dirk Stahl, CEO of BLS Cargo and President of ERFA.
Therefore, the Weights and Dimensions Directive and the Combined Transport Directive need to be revised together, and the revised Weights and Dimensions Directive needs to:
- Ensure that electrical trucks’ weights and dimensions are compatible with combined transport and allow additional weight exclusively for electric trucks.
- Consider all modes when assessing impact, not just optimization within road transport.
If not, the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy goals, to increase rail freight by 50% by 2030 and double by 2050”, are out of reach. “Ultimately it is not a business but a political decision with profound implications for society and taxpayers. It is about finding the best solution for the whole transport sector, not only road”, concludes Dr. Sigrid Nikutta.
The visuals and supporting documents presented during the press conference are available at the following links:
For any supplementary information, please contact: info [at] railfreightforward.eu