1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198 
BEAUTIFUL
Page 62
Page 63
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Roadtrains look at home in the Australian outback; now the Dutch are trying out 'long and heavy' rigs on domestic haulage. Tim de Jong reports.
The Dutch government and the road haulage association Transport and Logistiek Nederland (MN) have launched a new series of tests with long and heavy' truck combinations in a bid to cut congestion.
These rigs were first tried on Dutch roads in 2001 but there were only four of them and their use was strictly limited. For example, they were not allowed on the road during the morning rush hour (6am-10am) and they were limited to 50km a day. Their drivers were tightly controlled too — they had to have a fiveyear crash-free record.And they could only be used on interrnodal work. Nonetheless, the four operators concerned reported significant increases in productivity.
Overdevest of Leidschendam, near The Hague, moves containers on the south side of Rotterdam and used a big rig to carry three empty 20ft containers between two of the many terminals, boosting productivity by a third.
Dusseldorp of Lichtenvoorde, in the east of the Netherlands, used its rig to move waste from its depot in the middle of the country to Lelystad, where the containers were shipped to an incinerator in the west. Dusseldorp is very keen to take part in the new tests: it plans to put three combinations on the road this time, two of them on longer distance runs.
Restrictions dropped The new tests have dropped the distance and destination restrictions, greatly enhancing their operational advantages. Dutch operators already run many drawbar combinations, and under the new rules they are allowed to couple two trailers to a drawbar.This magnifies the advantage of drawbar rigs, with trailers left at customers' premises for loading and unloading leaving the vehicle free to work elsewhere.
Dutch department stores intend to run long combinations overnight to outlets located in the north and south of the country. However. these rigs will not be particularly heavy, more likely grossing at about 45 tonnes.
Permits will still be needed for routes that cross railway lines to ensure the longer vehicles have plenty of time to clear the fine when the warning bell sounds before the train arrives. same amount But it's not just a case of hooking on an extra trailer and immediately boosting productivity." We have to make extra costs in developing the right material for these combinations," says Henk Brink of Brink Hardenberg in the north-east of the Netherlands."Drivers have to be educated and a journey with a long combination takes longer when combinations have to be coupled, etc. "In the test we hope to find out how much slower along combination is, compared with a standard truck on the same route. We have to find out about the increase in fuel consumption, and we have to see how repair and maintenance costs develop. Still, there is a big advantage: fewer drivers and vehicles working to shift the same amount of load."
Once trained, drivers will have to drive a big rig with a specially licensed examiner before being allowed to pilot it operationally.
These outfits have obvious advantages in terms of reducing congestion and pollution in the Netherlands but some Dutch operators are planning to venture further afield.
Distribution work Henk van de Scheur °I:Apeldoorn, in the middle of the country, is using his long vehicle for distribution work in the south, but also specialises in runs to Norway."I've learned that the Danish government is seriously looking at the Dutch test,he says."It would be a great improvement in productivity if I could take a combination up to Norway."
This won't be happening immediately, because the Germans don't plan to relax their laws on truck dimensions. But at the European level Brussels is known to support trials of long and heavy combinations, and TLN is busy lobbying for the right to run big combinations on international routes. • • Denby Transport ran a 69-tonne B-double drawbar rig at the recent BTAC trials (CM 3 June). However the UK government show no signs of following the Dutch lead by approving road triaLs of longer, heavier trucks.