Germany’s heavy transport and industry lobby group Verbändeinitiative Grossraum und Schwertransporte (VI-GST) has sent an updated position paper to the recently elected federal government in Germany, to ensure that it delivers on promised improvements to the country’s heavy and abnormal transport regulations.
VI-GST is a cross-industry group supported by 21 organisations in the transport, construction, energy and industrial sectors. It has already lobbied the German government to commit to several improvements to the country’s heavy and abnormal transport regulations and is now pushing for those amendments to be made as soon as possible.
The position paper states: “Large-volume and heavy-duty transport (GST) ensures the competitiveness of Germany as a business location and is an indispensable prerequisite for urgently needed energy and infrastructure projects, the export of valuable assets, and the transport of military equipment.
“The previous government was able to implement some measures, but many avoidable bureaucratic hurdles, a lack of coordination between the responsible authorities, increasing deficits in transport infrastructure, and inadequate digitalisation continue to hinder the implementation of GST.”
The four priorities of the paper are upgraded transport routes, including long-term and adequate funding for maintenance and repair along with the targeted expansion of roads, bridges, railways and waterways plus the necessary logistical and loading facilities; a reduction in unnecessary and unpredictable bureaucracy; faster, simplified and technological permit application and approval procedures; and improved coordination between federal, state and local governments as well as relevant industry and business organisations.
VI-GST has also called for the development of selected heavy transport corridors – a long-standing ESTA policy; improved rest areas and parking spaces for heavy transport; implementation of a bridge modernisation plan; plus, the exemption limit for large-volume and heavy-duty transport to be raised to 44 tonnes.
“Our one piece of advice to our German friends and colleagues is to ensure that their own new rules and systems are aligned with those on abnormal transport contained in the upcoming revisions to the EU’s Weights and Dimensions Directive,” said ESTA director Ton Klijn. “It would be a great shame – and a huge waste of effort – if they have to make yet further changes in the near future to ensure they are not in breach of the new European regulations.”
