Really long trucks will soon be driving on Sweden's roads

The Swedish government has now submitted the proposal to the EU Commission and once the EU member states have approved it, the government can make a decision. When the decision has been made, which may be before the election this autumn, the Swedish Transport Agency and the Swedish Transport Administration have announced that they need one year to make the necessary adjustments in regulations and infrastructure.

According to the Swedish Transport Administration's calculations, allowing longer trucks can reduce energy consumption from heavy vehicles by 4-6 per cent, but up to 30 per cent on individual vehicles. This applies to all types of fuel such as electricity, biogas, hydrogen or diesel.

The physical measures that need to be implemented are that signs need to be added to the traffic network, roundabouts and terminals need to be adapted. This applies to both state, municipal and private roads.

— This will lead to major environmental benefits for Sweden and cost savings for everything from hauliers and product owners to society at large. With the right use, we also see the possibility of getting more efficient multimodal solutions so that there is no risk of a transfer to the road, says Thomas Asp, project manager of the HCT program, CLOSER.

CLOSER has for ten years worked to look at the possibility of introducing both heavier and longer vehicles, on Swedish roads, in close collaboration with partners from both industry, academia and society. All knowledge collected has been presented to the Swedish Transport Administration, the Swedish Transport Agency and the government in a variety of formats, such as reports and presentations. It's everything from academic reports to tests in a real environment.