Megatrucks, very long cargo vehicles that are almost double the size and weight of the largest trucks, can now circulate throughout Spain: Catalonia, the only region that did not allow them, just did so -last Friday-, while the European Parliament has started the process so that, later, they can move throughout the continent (they are already in some countries). The sector expects that in the coming years its use will increase, still very minor, which it considers essential for logistics. However, Spanish and European railway companies warn that promoting this type of mobility will slow down the transport of goods by train, which is much less polluting, while environmentalists and experts denounce that it will mean more fossil fuels, more emissions and severe wear and tear on infrastructure.
“The duotrailers [o megacamiones] They consist of a tractor head with two long trailers, which makes them very efficient for certain road transport. If the most common trucks measure 16.5 meters, these can reach 25 and even 32 meters,” explains Francisco Aranda, president of ONE, the logistics employer. To circulate, they need a special permit from the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) and another from the Ministry of Transport. According to data from the DGT, the department granted 977 permits for megatrucks in 2023, of the around 307,000 trucks weighing more than 3,000 kilos registered in Spain. “Now that they will also be able to circulate in Catalonia, the competitiveness of the sector will improve and growth in this type of vehicle will be promoted,” adds Aranda.
Dulsé Díaz, deputy general secretary of the Spanish Confederation of Freight Transport (CETM), points out that cargo vehicles can reach 40 tons, while megatrucks can reach 60 and even 72: “They are used in intensive consumer, automotive and large retail uses, where there may be a lot of occupancy on the way. and on the way back, because moving it empty is very expensive and they have limitations on many routes,” he says. “It is common to see these vehicles in Nordic countries, where there is less population density. But they are not yet allowed to circulate in Europe,” he continues.
Last month, the European Parliament began a procedure so that these configurations, the so-called European Modular Systems (EMS, in English), can move between countries. “This is going to be a brake on the development of rail freight transport,” complains Juan Diego Pedrero, president of the Spanish Association of Private Railway Companies (AEFP), which brings together 14 Iberian companies. “The railway is already an efficient, electric transport that consumes energy produced in Europe and reduces emissions by around 80% compared to road transport. If we opt for mega trucks, rail freight traffic can be reduced by 20% between now and 2035, while CO₂ emissions will increase by 30% in the sector in that period,” he continues.
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Various reports of the International Union of Railways (UIC), lobby European of the sector, they also prelude that The extension of this transport can harm the train in the next years. Both Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat (FGC) and Euskotren, which also transport goods, ask to promote railway lines as a way to face decarbonization. Renfe Mercancías has declined to respond.
“EU countries committed to moving 30% of goods by rail by 2030. In Spain we are at around 4% [en la UE, en el 17%]. Promoting road transport in this context is delaying decarbonization,” says Cristina Arjona, from Greenpeace. Paco Segura, from Ecologistas en Acción, says: “There is a distortion in the market, because railway companies pay a fee to use the infrastructure, while trucks and megatrucks, in general, do not pay tolls to use Spanish infrastructure, different from what happens throughout Europe. Furthermore, trucks damage pavements, bridges and infrastructure very quickly, and they should pay for these externalities.”
Pedrero, from the railway association, points out: “The highways are not prepared for the additional weight of 60 or 72 tons. Several studies in Germany estimate that the impact of these megatrucks on the cost of bridge maintenance will increase by 50 billion in Europe in 10 years. The passage of one of these vehicles on the pavement is equivalent to 10,000 cars, as seen on any Spanish highway: there are impressive ruts where trucks circulate and not where cars circulate.”
Díaz, from CETM, considers that megatrucks “have the potential to reduce emissions, because they allow more cargo to be carried with fewer trucks.” Bernardo Galantini, from the NGO Transport & Environment, disagrees, because its extension “could slow down the adoption of zero-emission trucks, designed for shorter distances, and keep more polluting vehicles on the roads.”
“A very specialized transport”
Marta Serrano, general secretary of Land Transport of the Ministry of Transport, considers that, in general, there is no risk of these megatrucks stealing traffic from the freight train: “They are not going to become widespread, they are going to continue to be very residual transport, because It is not so simple for them to circulate on all roads. “They are very specialized transport.” Serrano points out that the ministry “is developing an incentive policy to subsidize freight transport charges by rail, and is also carrying out extensive planning of railway highways to promote this transport, in collaboration with private companies.” The most important is Algeciras-Zaragoza, where the sidings are already being expanded so that, in the future, freight trains can reach 740 meters in length – in general, they are now 450 meters.
Víctor Esteban, of the Corell Foundation: “They are not competition, because the transport of goods by train in Spain has very low levels of activity, because there has not been a stable policy of promotion. The EU estimates that in 2050 land transport will continue to grow by 60%, there is enough room for both modes. As much as I wanted to grow, the train would not compete with the road, which is much more flexible, loading and unloading wherever you want. The advantage of the railway is that it can carry many more tons.” Esteban, who is also secretary of the European Alliance of Rail Corridors (Runners), calls for investments to promote European railway axes.
These infrastructures are essential for the train to gain market share, points out Iñaki Barrón de Angoiti, international railway consultant: “The train can grow, but to do so it has to concentrate traffic in areas where many trucks move. Nowadays it is difficult to fit a truck on a train; works are needed to expand the gauges. And the trains must be lengthened: in Spain they do not usually exceed 400 meters, while in the US they can reach two or three kilometers, although for that the sidings need to be expanded.”
The expert, who worked for 40 years at Renfe, points out that in the United States, where there is a long tradition of road transport, they already move 50% of freight traffic by rail. How they did it? “In the 70s they had a serious crisis where the railway collapsed. Then they allowed tariff freedom, eliminated tariffs and exempted companies from carrying travelers. Now they are an example.” And he concludes: “In Spain, there are railway lines that transport a few travelers a day inefficiently, and that torpedoes the freight railways.”
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