Beth Brooks
Leading multiples could soon be transporting their goods in super trucks almost double the current permitted size if prototype vehicles waiting in the wings receive the green light from the government.
Currently, HGVs are limited to a maximum length of 62 ft and a maximum weight of 44 tonnes.
However, two haulage companies have sent off applications to the Department for Transport to allow them to trial monster vehicles as long as 110 ft and weighing up to 84 tonnes.
Denby Transport, which is developing a 60 tonne, 83 ft HGV dubbed Eco-Link, claimed that the prototype vehicle had
already caught the eye of a major supermarket.
Peter Denby, managing director of Denby Transport, said: “One major supermarket has expressed real interest and came down to see the vehicle in trials in Lincoln.”
He added that although the supermarket was not yet at the collaboration stage, it was “genuinely interested and could see its viability”. The Grocer revealed earlier this year that Morrisons was exploring the potential of 60 to 80-tonne trucks (The Grocer, February 12, p8).
Denby said: “There is a real niche for this type of vehicle. Instead of three vehicles, you only need two to move the same amount of freight. It is more efficient and more environmentally friendly."
He claims Eco-Link would have at least 8% fewer emissions for every 1,000 tonnes than a 44-tonne HGV.
A second haulage firm, Stan Robinson, is also hoping to trial a double-trailer HGV weighing 84 tonnes and measuring 110 ft. A spokesman for the Department for Transport said if the firms’ applications were approved, road trials would be very limited, with the HGVs “severely restricted” in terms of where they could travel.
The news comes as local councils are weighing up whether to ban HGVs from delivering goods to town centre stores. Councils are discussing pilot schemes that could force HGVs to deliver goods to points on the outskirts of town centres (‘Plan to cut heavy van traffic’, The Grocer, September 3, p6).
Meanwhile, Transport for London is considering charging heavy vehicles to enter the M25 area as part of a ‘low-emissions zone’ scheme.
Leading multiples could soon be transporting their goods in super trucks almost double the current permitted size if prototype vehicles waiting in the wings receive the green light from the government.
Currently, HGVs are limited to a maximum length of 62 ft and a maximum weight of 44 tonnes.
However, two haulage companies have sent off applications to the Department for Transport to allow them to trial monster vehicles as long as 110 ft and weighing up to 84 tonnes.
Denby Transport, which is developing a 60 tonne, 83 ft HGV dubbed Eco-Link, claimed that the prototype vehicle had
already caught the eye of a major supermarket.
Peter Denby, managing director of Denby Transport, said: “One major supermarket has expressed real interest and came down to see the vehicle in trials in Lincoln.”
He added that although the supermarket was not yet at the collaboration stage, it was “genuinely interested and could see its viability”. The Grocer revealed earlier this year that Morrisons was exploring the potential of 60 to 80-tonne trucks (The Grocer, February 12, p8).
Denby said: “There is a real niche for this type of vehicle. Instead of three vehicles, you only need two to move the same amount of freight. It is more efficient and more environmentally friendly."
He claims Eco-Link would have at least 8% fewer emissions for every 1,000 tonnes than a 44-tonne HGV.
A second haulage firm, Stan Robinson, is also hoping to trial a double-trailer HGV weighing 84 tonnes and measuring 110 ft. A spokesman for the Department for Transport said if the firms’ applications were approved, road trials would be very limited, with the HGVs “severely restricted” in terms of where they could travel.
The news comes as local councils are weighing up whether to ban HGVs from delivering goods to town centre stores. Councils are discussing pilot schemes that could force HGVs to deliver goods to points on the outskirts of town centres (‘Plan to cut heavy van traffic’, The Grocer, September 3, p6).
Meanwhile, Transport for London is considering charging heavy vehicles to enter the M25 area as part of a ‘low-emissions zone’ scheme.
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