Broad alliance against monster trucks: Switzerland is concerned about EU plans with gigaliners

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Switzerland is angry with the EU again. Last week the European Commission presented the “Green transport package”. The draft law aims to facilitate the cross-border use of extra-long trucks, the so-called gigaliners.

The Green Deal initiative aims to significantly reduce road traffic emissions and make transport cheaper. The EU argues that fewer journeys are needed for more goods. Only: zero-emission vehicles require more weight, axle load and space. That’s why she trusts Gigaliner. In Switzerland, however, the EU plans are not well received.

The idea of ​​the gigaliners is not new. The EU wanted to introduce these gigantic trucks more than a decade ago. After fierce resistance, the idea was buried for the time being. In Switzerland, a motion against gigaliners was also approved by parliament.

Strong pressure on Switzerland feared

These “monster trucks” are more than 25 meters long and weigh 60 tons. “Too big, too heavy for Switzerland”, criticize environmental protection groups. But the federal government and even the trucking lobby are also on their hind legs. In Switzerland, trucks and trailers can now be a maximum of 18.75 meters long and have a total weight of 44 tonnes.

In the EU, on the other hand, gigaliners are already widespread today, for example in large and sparsely populated countries such as Finland or Sweden. In Germany, too, the huge trucks can already drive on individual routes.

Now it is feared that the EU could put so much pressure on Switzerland that it would eventually have to bow, as the news portal “Watson” first wrote.

‘Noise nuisance would increase’

“Gigaliners are slowing down the successful model of Swiss relocation policy, which we have been working on for 30 years,” says Django Betschart (32), managing director of the Alpeninitiative association. The cheaper the rubbish on the street becomes, the more difficult it becomes for the railways to keep up in this competitive battle. “The imbalance is getting much bigger.”

You can see that at the Swiss Commercial Vehicle Association (Astag). Border-to-border international transit traffic belongs on the rails. Because: “Gigaliners are not suitable for domestic freight transport within Switzerland with short distances and many slopes,” says deputy director André Kirchhofer (46) of Astag.

“With the use of gigaliners, noise nuisance for the population would increase on the north-south axis between Basel and Chiasso. Moreover, the road infrastructure is under great pressure and we would have to invest a lot of money to make it suitable for Gigaliners,” says Betschart.

As early as 2011, the Federal Road Agency (Astra) commissioned a study into the possible approval of gigaliners on Swiss roads. Conclusion: For a general introduction of such trucks, the infrastructure would have to be adapted – with costs in the hundreds of millions. According to Astra, the research has lost nothing of its topicality.

Austria is not happy either

Adjustments would be necessary, for example, at the Swiss border. The customs facilities are not designed for Gigaliners. Moreover, the parking spaces at the customs waiting rooms, service and rest areas would be much too short. Roundabouts were barely passable. According to Kirchhofer, bridges and tunnels would also have to be modified. “The cons clearly outweigh the cons,” he says.

Kirchhofer fears, however, that there is a risk that the subject will come up in the upcoming negotiations on the relationship between Switzerland and the EU. The association Alpeninitiative also expects such a scenario. “We are therefore in contact with European environmental organizations and allies in the EU parliament to prevent gigaliners from being approved across Europe,” says Betschart.

An ally should be Austria. There, too, people are not happy with the EU plans and want to oppose the introduction of gigaliners, said Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler (45) in a recent interview.

Source:Blick