Test trials of mega trucks on the verge of collapse

Berlin. The number of German federal states that are in favour of test trials of longer, heavier vehicles (LHVs) has shrunk to just four. Only Lower Saxony, Schleswig Holstein, Bavaria and Saxony now support the federal transport ministry's plans to commence the trials. The state of Hesse, which to-date had been firmly behind the trials, has now explicitly said that its participation is an open question. Saxony Anhalt, and for the first time, Baden Württemberg, have now switched to the opposing camp after the elections in those states. The state of Rhineland Palatinate also emphasised its rejection of the trials of the so-called gigaliners in its new coalition agreement, which was published today. "Overall, the test trials of mega trucks are on the verge of collapse," said Dirk Flege, managing director of the German Pro-Rail Alliance, on Friday in Berlin. He called on the federal transport minister Peter Ramsauer from the conservative Bavarian CSU to cancel the planned LHV trials. "National trials with just four federal states isn't feasible," said Flege.

The Pro-Rail Alliance believes that the latest 'defections' will also clearly show the supposed LHV supporters that the arguments against mega trucks are too weighty to be ignored. "Gigaliners are expensive for taxpayers, damaging for the environment and above all dangerous," said Flege, referring to a DPA report from Thursday which stated that Hesse was making its participation in the trials dependent on the results of the working groups that are currently discussing the trials under the direction of the federal transport ministry. In the state of Saxony Anhalt, which had originally abstained from the vote on the LHV trials during a summit of state transport ministers in October 2010, the government's coalition partners CDU and SPD have clearly stated in their coalition agreement that they will not be participating in the trials.

What are the positions of the federal states on the German government's plans for LHV trials?

Against	In favour	Open question*
Baden-Württemberg   Berlin   Brandenburg   Bremen   Hamburg   Mecklenburg-Vorpommern   North Rhine-Westphalia   Rhineland-Palatinate   Saarland   Saxony-Anhalt	Bavaria   Lower Saxony   Saxony   Schleswig-Holstein	Hesse   Thuringia

* Hesse, which to-date was in favour of LHVs, says its participation is now an open question. Although Thuringia's transport minister Carius from the CDU supports the LHV trials, the state government's coalition agreement (CDU-SPD) is clearly against further trials of LHVs. It states: "The pilot project on the use of 'Longliners' will not be extended by the Free State of Thuringia."