Transport Efficiency: the European Modular System (EMS)

Freight transport is forecast to rise by 50% between 2000 and 2020. This means another 300,000 heavy long-haul commercial vehicles on the road, with obvious effects on congestion and the environment if nothing is done.

The European Modular System is designed to deal with the effects: already in use in Sweden and Finland, it introduces longer vehicles to cut congestion and pollution on selected roads. It has been partly introduced in Denmark; is tested in the Netherlands and underway in Germany; and is being discussed in Belgium, France, Great Britain, and Norway. A Europe-wide implementation of EMS could have a huge impact, and we would like to see it developed as part of the European co-modal transport framework.

Under EMS, two vehicles are used instead of three to carry the same amount of cargo. Efficiency is boosted through lower costs per tonne/km. At the same time, it means there is 15-20% less CO₂ and NOx per tonne/km. Congestion is also eased, as there are fewer but larger vehicles - while roads are less damaged as loads are distributed over more axles. EMS is easy to implement: it uses standard equipment, no major investments are required, and it can be applied as a tool for co-modality.