[050511.EN.LAN] UK Unions, Railways, Environmentalists Oppose Allowing Truckers Bigger Trucks

A BRITISH railway, union and environmental lobby is attacking plans that would allow for 17 per cent longer trucks, thus undermining the railways' attack on trucking.

But in a letter to the editor from an operations clerk at London forwarder Gondrand UK opposed this view, saying that changes could be made to serve most interests involved.

This was in response to an essay in London's International Freighting Weekly by Philippa Edmunds, manager of UK Freight on Rail, formed by railway unions, rail operators and the eco-lobby, Campaign for Better Transport, which demands that plans to permit longer trucks be supplanted by state spending on incentives to "improve efficiency" to be paid for by taxes on truckers.

"In a five-year period up to 2009, the German Maut lorry road-user charging system has resulted in empty-running being reduced by 11 per cent, to below 20 per cent and an increase in loaded runs of 2.1 per cent and in rail freight of seven per cent," she said.

"The modal shift to rail freight, which produces 70 per cent less C02 emissions than the equivalent road journey, is the only practicable means of achieving the massive reductions required in C02 emissions from long-distance freight if transport is to reduce its C02 emissions which represent 21 per cent of UK emissions by 80 per cent by 2050," she said.

CO2 contributions to anything untoward environmentally remains subject of widespread scientific debate despite its equally widespread acceptance by many concerns both public and private, most of which stand to gain from increasing regulations. Environmentalists advance their agenda, large companies, better able to meet the costs of more stringent regulation gain market share from those who cannot and unions win larger membership in the transport sector as smaller independent owners operators are driven from the market.

Said Ms Edmunds: "The government downplays safety implications of the seven-foot longer trailers and lorries, which include more susceptibility to crosswinds and greater tail swing. It admits that it would be individually less safe than the existing 44-tonne vehicle without new active steering technology - due in 18 months' time - but surprisingly states that it does not favour mandating this safer technology," she said.

In response, London logistics provider Gondrand UK's operations clerk Wayne Hickman said: "Trailers should be re-designed to minimise the impact of increased vulnerability to cross winds maybe lowering the centre of gravity by building the lower parts heavier and the higher parts lighter and stronger."

The request of the 46-tonne limit should be lowered, he conceded. "This should be rejected as this will push trailer designers and operators alike into building these trailers more efficiently and using them for more bulky loads," he said.

"I would also point out that in my last 14 years at Gondrand UK, I would estimate that well over 80 per cent of the groupage loads that I have personally handled have been full on cube, but often under 20,000 kilogrammes and quite often far less. So there are lots of bulky loads that these new trailers would benefit," said Mr Hickman.

Source : HKSG, 05.05.11.