Heavy haul trains in Europe STATE OF THE ART AND PERSPECTIVES

摘要

Despite the difficulties associated with increasing axle loads in Europe, UIC estimates that heavy haul trains have a potential equivalent to 10 - 30% of total rail freight traffic in Europe. Central Europe is dominated by passenger traffic and therefore the demands for higher axle loads are not so great. But in cases such as Sweden demand from industry has been very high and today increased axle loads are widely implemented. In this case real figures show that increased axle loads are both achievable and cost-effective when implemented on existing lines.