FRANCE TESTS INCREASED LOADS FOR COMBINED TRANSPORT
On 25 July, France published a decree increasing the maximum authorised loads intended for combined transport from 42-44 tons to 46 tons as of 27 July, as part of an experiment that will last 18 months. More specifically, the decree authorises and regulates the experimentation of the circulation, exclusively within the national territory, of road units with more than four axles and a total authorised rolling weight of up to 46 tonnes carrying out pre- or post-carriage road journeys to combined transport terminals.
The experiment will be monitored in view of assessing the effects on the road network, the CO2 savings achieved, as well as the performance of combined transport resulting from it. Within six months after the end of the experiment, an evaluation report is submitted to the Minister of Transport, assessing the conditions under which the experiment was carried out and any limitations, as well as proposals for remedying them.