K hauliers are tiptoeing towards the 44-tonne combined road/rail option.
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There has been no industry-wide rush to embrace the concept—the vast majority of operators seem happy to allow a handful of hauliers test the water before they commit themselves.
This is partly because of the need to make additional investments in trucks, trailers, and containerhandling equipment. There might also be some concern that the paperwork required to run at 44 tonnes could be complicated and time-consuming.
But the main reason is because hauliers still need to be convinced that sufficient traffic will switch to rail to make any investment worth their while. And the signalmen's strike has certainly not helped rail's case, says Bill Cooper, a director of Aldridge, West Midlands-based operator S Jones.
He believes that intermodal 44tonners have a bright future, nevertheless. He has just put five into service—ERF triaxle tractors married to triaxle Dennison skeletal semitrailers—and has a further five on order.
A 44-tonne road/rail operation is ideal for heavy loads that need to be moved rapidly over long distances, he says. "One of our customers put a consignment of steel pipes on a train in Milan the other Friday, and it was at its destination in Caseley near
Wolverhampton by noon the following Monday," he say& "Now you can't complain about that; I was quite impressed. "So far, most of the traffic S Jones has handled has been incoming from Europe.
"In the main it's been steel," says Cooper. "There's little in terms of outgoing loads at present, but we're getting enquiries. "We're quite happy with the way things have started, apart from the strike."
S Jones is well-placed to take advantage of any growth in intermodal, Cooper believes. "We've got enough space at Aldridge to store 3,000 containers," he says.
Stirling-based Spedtrans is using the payload advantage that 44 tonnes brings to move export loads of whisky and paper.
The company has invested in 10 MAN tractors and 20 Trailor semi-trailers to handle the work. It is basing vehicles at five rail terminals in France, and in Milan.
Export
Managing director David Allardyce says his firm is the first of its type to set up in Scotland, and he believes the vast majority of outbound 44-tonne loads it will handle will be for export, "The UK's rail network has insufficient coverage these days to make a purely domestic operation possible," he says.
But he will be attempting to backload to Scotland from the south of England to compensate for any lack of loads to Scotland from Europe. "At present we're sending out more than we're bringing back," he says. "The overall reaction to what we're doing has been favourable," he adds.
The export scene is complicated by the need to have a verification officer present at the customer's premises when the truck is loaded, explains Paul Williams, a partner in European Freight Logistics (EFL).
These officers are not customs officials but security men acting on behalf of Railfreight Distribution (RID). Vehicles are not allowed into the rail terminals unless they have scrutinised its cargo at the point of departure, he says. I Williams says the security men are there to ensure hazardous cargo banned in the Tunnel does not find its way into a container. They also provide an additional check against terrorist action such as the recent IRA lorry bomb threat; even a tiny bomb could do considerable damage if set to explode inside the Tunnel.
This system sounds cumbersome, but works well at present, says David Allardyce. "We requested a presence at 03:00hrs the other day, and they turned up as asked," he says.
If 44 tonnes really takes off, this security clearance requirement could lead to serious snarl-ups. It is likely that customers will ultimately be able to operate a selfclearing system, however, says Williams, with cargo signed off by authorised individuals; but customers are still likely to be subject to security spot-checks. Trucks can also be turned away from terminals if the containers they carry are damaged, Williams adds: "A tear in the side of a curtain could lead to the whole curtain ripping away while the container is in transit, getting tangled up with the overhead power cables, and causing all kinds of damage."
The need to pre-book slots on trains can be a problem too, but should become less so once 44-tonne road/rail has been operating for a few months and hauliers have gained a better grasp of traffic patterns. "They will be able to say 'well, I've booked 10 slots, so if customer X drops out, I can put in customer Y'," Williams says.
EFL is working on behalf of several major transport groups, including MAT, and consignments it has handled already include wire and steel. Lighter, time-critical commodities could also be carried, suggests Williams.
It has an agreement with RfD under which it is using 28 of the organisation's 44tonners under contract.
A fourth 44-tonne player is the Seawheel Division of United Transport. It believes it has a fair claim to be the first company to run at 44 tonnes in Britain. "We have been doing so since 21 April this year, and have successfully conveyed a significant number of cargoes within the UK," says Seawheel product director Chris Nial.
Every load carried at 44 tonnes has to be accompanied by documents stating which rail terminal it is going to or coming from, and who the consignor and consignee are. If it has been picked up from a terminal, the time and date of collection must be specified. "The documentation isn't a problem at all," reckons Allardyce.
Most of the trucks operating at 44 tonnes in the UK are artics, although a 44-tonne drawbar combination developed by demount specialist Ray Smith, bodybuilder Southfields, King Trailers, and Foden has gone into service with EFL. This absence of drawbars from the scene for the present is simply because UK haulage isn't orientated towards the 7.18m swap bodies they carry, says Allardyce: "They're costly vehicles to acquire, and heavy too. We've looked at them, but they're 18 months to two years away so far as we're concerned."
What do operators think of the rail terminals? "The one at Landor Street in Birmingham is OK, but access is very poor," says Cooper. It is not far from the city centre. RfD has spent ,L4m improving the craneage and general infrastructure, and says that it will be in operation for some time to come.
S Jones and others may be able to use the projected freight village at Hams Hall, Coleshill, close to the M42/M6 junction. The terminal is funded by Powergen and Trafalgar House and planned for a site once occupied by a power station.
There is already rail access because the coal that fuelled the power station was delivered by train.
Excavations
David Allardyce says the terminal at Moss End, Glasgow is first class despite the fact that there is no running gantry: "The necessary excavations have been made so that one can be installed in the future, though." RID also has terminals at Trafford Park, Glasgow, and Willesden, north London, and two smaller ones at Middlesborough and Cardiff. One is planned for Wakefield, says RID, and the Port of Liverpool is building one to handle 44-tonne traffic going to and from Ireland.
Allardyce is happy to be one of the pioneers, but he believes he'll be far from alone if 44 tonnes intermodal work takes off in the way he predicts: "It's a niche market now, but there are going to be a lot more players," he says.
0 by Steve Banner