(Finance) – Sabrina De Filippis, CEO of Mercitalia Logistics, leader of the Logistics Hub of the FS Group, declared that “the EU directive will bring over 10 million more trucks onto European roads, for over 6.6 million additional tonnes of CO2 compared to current levels”. De Filippis spoke today at the first international press conference of the main European railway companies to take stock of the negative impacts of the EU “Weights and Dimensions” Directive dedicated to road freight transport, currently being evaluated by the European Parliament, promoted by Rail Freight Forward (RFF), a coalition of European rail freight transport companies with the aim of reducing their impact on the planet and on collective mobility.
The CEOs highlighted that implementing the proposal in its current version compromises the sustainability objectives of the Green Deal for Europe for 2030 and brings a significant loss for all companies in the sector. One of the main concerns discussed is the environmental and social impact of increasing the number of truck on the road: As highlighted, with the addition of over 10 million trucks, CO2 emissions are expected to increase significantly, with an estimated additional 6.6 million tonnes above current levels. This raises a number of questions about road safety, the effect on infrastructure and the heavy financial burden that will fall on European taxpayers.
Furthermore, in terms of the transport system, the introduction of heavier and larger trucks for long distances would reduce the interest in promoting combined road-rail transport, causing a reverse modal shift. This would lead to a projected decrease of 16% in combined road-rail transport and 21% in rail freight transport.
In addition to the CEO of Mercitalia, they took part in the debate Sigrid NikuttaCEO of DB Cargo and president of Rail Freight Forward; Clemens FörstCEO of the ÖBB Rail Cargo Group; Frederic DelormeCEO of Rail Logistics Europe and Fret SNCF; Dirk StahlCEO of BLS Cargo and president of Erfa.
The CEO of BLS Cargo and president of Erfa, Dirk Stahl, underlined that the introduction of heavier trucks could be counterproductive and called for a revision of the directive to ensure a solution that benefits the entire transport sector.
Therefore, the proposed directive, under the pretext of encouraging the installation of batteries in electric trucks, could eliminate the incentives for the transport combined on road and rail for 44 tonne vehicles and pave the way for the widespread use of giant trucks (gigaliners) across the EU. This change would have serious consequences for safety and road infrastructure, as highlighted by Sigrid Nikutta, CEO of DB Cargo and president of Rail Freight Forward, and Clemens Först, CEO of ÖBB Rail Cargo Group.
Frederic DelormeCEO of Rail Logistics Europe and Fret SNCF, however, questioned why the road sector is favored despite consuming seven times more energy than the rail sector.
The railway sector associations, agreeing on the importance of re-evaluating the proposed amendment in light of the European Union’s sustainability objectives. Finally, they argue that any initiative that further favors road transport, without promoting real progress towards sustainability goals, could seriously undermine efforts to achieve greener freight transport in Europe.