I have seen the ever growing number of heavy goods vehicles on the roads, and because of their mass and speed limit of 80kph they are constantly holding up traffic on the major arteries of the world's road networks.
I do not blame the majority of drivers for they can do little about it, although there is an increasing number of 'cowboys' who have no thought for other road users.
The trucks have got bigger with much heavier loads over the past two decades, resulting in heavy goods vehicles being responsible for the majority of resufacing work carried out in both town and country.
It costs local authorities billions every year to keep the roads in a safe condition, and the life expectancy is small before they have to do it again. Nobody wants to drive on roads with holes or indentations caused by heavy trucks.
Why should it be necessary for a truck to move goods from New York to California, from Quebec to Vancouver or from Lisbon to Warsaw? Some journeys take days, some a week, and it can be done in a much shorter time at less risk to the environment.
The answer perhaps is to get as many heavy vehicles off the road onto an alternative form of long distance transport.
While driving through Austria one day I saw a train pulling flatcars loaded with trucks, and I thought at the time, what a brilliant idea. In many European countries, the rail network shuts down at night, I am thinking of, for example, Holland where all train activity ceases at 01.00hrs until 06.00hrs the following morning. There are many countries that do this, so why not use the night hours to transport trucks?
Any goods vehicle that needs to travel more than, lets say 100km, could be loaded onto a train at specific depots and transported at night to a place near its destination.
Travelling between Holland and Spain in the past I saw countless trucks thundering down the motorways day and night. Sometimes convoys of ten or fifteen vehicles. They were all travelling between North and Eastern Europe and Spain, Portugal, and the south of France. I saw trucks from all over Europe, Sweden, Latvia, Russia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, you name it. Of course it was the same going North too.
So what if all these trucks travelled by rail? Why should a truck from Poland not be carried by rail to say Madrid if that is his destination? Imagine a single train moving thirty or forty goods vehicles at a time from Poland to Spain. It is quicker, and could be a lot cheaper than by road with the cooperation of the rail companies.
In the long term, it would be advisable for local authorities to invest in such a scheme using the billions they save in road repairs. I am sure trucking companies could reduce their overheads 'Going By Rail'.
Imagine the affect on the environment with the removal of the majority of long distance trucks from the European and North American road networks. The World's politicians are arguing over CO2 cuts to stop global warming, and all the while this scheme could make a major contribution. Makes you think doesn't it!
It will mean major investment on the part of all countries concerned, and a lot of international cooperation, but that doesn't make it impossible!
The basic infrastructure is already in existance, but would require some investment in flatbed rail cars and perhaps making changes to some of the goods depots to allow for the truck traffic. Timetables would need to be generated for 'short haul' and 'long haul', but that is a matter of an international group of people working them out. After all, it's not rocket science! Using the existing rail network across, say Europe, thousands of trucks could be moved across the continent in a single night.
I am of course aware that this system would not work for all countries, but in the congested West it would certainly be of great value. I do not know how bad things will need to get before someone thinks of putting such a plan into action, but I hope it doesn't take too long.
I will not live to see the day, but I hope you do!
Roy.
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