Transport 2000 fights 44-tonners
Page 9
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Environmental group Transport 2000 has launched a campaign to persuade the Government not to allow the unrestricted use of 44-tonne trucks.
Truck Off—A Campaign Against Mega Lorries forms the group's reply to the Government's consultation exercise on 44-tonne lorries, published in December.
Using statistics produced by rail freight company English Welsh and Scottish Railway, it argues that allowing all trucks to operate at 44 tonnes would increase the number of vehicle miles lorries travel.
It says larger vehicles will mean reduced running costs, which in turn will encourage business to move goods over greater distances. It also claims that 44-tonners on general haulage will end the advantage road/rail operators currently enjoy and will reduce the use of intermodal systems.
The report also says lorries do not pay their way in terms of the damage they inflict on roads and the environment, suggesting that Government figures show the transfer of freight from rail to road will "lead to over 1,000 extra road deaths per year".
L RaiItrack, the operator of the UK's rail infrastructure, has outlined its opposition to heavier trucks It estimates that 44tonners would carry an extra three-billion tonne/kilometres of freight each year.