2024-03-14 08:22:20
What does the EU’s Gigaliner yes mean for Switzerland?
The European Parliament has decided to allow cross-border transport with Gigaliners. In Switzerland, environmental associations and the transport industry are announcing resistance.
Gigalliners like this are expected to operate more frequently on Europe’s roads in the future.
Foto: Jörg Sarbach (Keystone)
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In principle, trucks in the European Union are allowed to be 18.75 meters long and weigh 40 tons. However, Gigaliners, trucks that are up to 25 meters long and weigh 60 tons, are already in use in Scandinavia.
This should now be possible throughout the European Union. On Monday, the EU Parliament made a groundbreaking decision: Despite strong opposition, the members of the European Parliament adopted the Commission’s proposed draft “Weights and Dimensions” directive with 330 yes votes and 207 no votes.
“Ecological solution”
In her presentation to the Strasbourg plenary, the Spanish rapporteur Isabel García Muñoz (Social Democrats) highlighted the advantages of these gigaliners in terms of competition (i.e. prices) and the environment.
In fact, these road giants can transport 50 to 75 percent more goods than the trucks currently registered. This argument is entirely in line with the spirit of the European truck lobby, which has been promoting its Gigaliners as an ecological solution for freight transport for years.
The objection of the liberal Austrian European Parliamentarian Roman Haider in the run-up to the debate was no longer of any use, as he warned urgently against this step: “This policy can only be described as schizophrenic, especially because fully loaded monster trucks weighing more than 44 tons are the death knell for the Rail freight transport means.” This would reduce transport costs per tonne of load, making road freight transport even cheaper and shifting goods from the environmentally friendly rail back to the road.
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The decision is not only met with incomprehension by the French MEP Karim Delli (Greens/EFA). The Alpine Initiative, which has been fighting to shift transalpine freight transport from road to rail since the 1990s, is also not enthusiastic. This would make transport cheaper, but at a high cost to the environment.
If approved, the shift back to the road is likely to increase, according to Django Betschart, managing director of the Alpine Initiative, and thus CO2-Emissions are increasing: “This also means that the green cloak that the EU puts on the Gigaliners will fall. Gigaliners are clearly slowing down the successful model of Swiss relocation policy and harming people and the environment. They do not reduce traffic congestion or the burden of noise, greenhouse gases and air pollutants.”
They were actively involved in the European debate and worked with important European associations to sensitize members of the European Parliament. “Unfortunately, the transport lobby dominated,” says Betschart when asked.
Massive costs to be expected
The reaction of the commercial vehicle association Astag is just as violent. “We categorically reject the approval of gigaliners in Switzerland,” emphasizes deputy director André Kirchhofer. Not just because they Relocation policy would be torpedoed, but also because the Swiss road infrastructure is not designed for such long and heavy trucks. For such vehicles, bridges, roundabouts and driveways would have to be adapted, which would entail massive costs. According to the Federal Roads Office (Astra), this would cost 75 million francs on the north-south axis alone.
“The EU’s stance has no impact – gigaliners are and will remain banned in Switzerland,” says Kirchhofer combatively. But even if Switzerland is not a member of the EU and the 40 ton maximum weight is legally protected, it would probably still be affected.
In the medium term, the EU would do everything possible to open the important north-south corridor through Switzerland to gigaliners. The Astra confirms this. “If the EU decides to change the regulations accordingly, Switzerland could come under pressure to also adjust its length and weight limits for vehicle combinations for the transport of heavy goods, despite broad political rejection,” says a corresponding analysis paper.
Referendum threatened
Because the maximum weight of 40 tons and the length for heavy motor vehicles and their trailers are enshrined in law, a referendum could also be held against any change – should the Federal Parliament, contrary to expectations, allow such gigaliners.
Betschart is already announcing bitter resistance today: “The Alpine Initiative would clearly support a referendum against the introduction of Gigaliners on Swiss roads.”
The decision now has to be discussed in a trilogue with the European Commission and the member states.
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#Freight #transport #EUs #Gigaliner #Switzerland