Heavy haul freight in trains of 10,000 tonnes and more represents two-thirds of the business of railways in the USA, Canada, South Africa and Australia, and almost as much in China and Russia. By contrast, there are very few heavy haul trains on European Union railways, since most freight trains do not exceed 2,000 tonnes, except in Sweden where 5,000 tonne ore trains have been a regular feature for several decades and even 8,000 tonne trains since 2001. This state of affairs prompted ERRI (European Rail Research Institute) to stage a seminar in Paris on Ⅱ and 12 March 2003 on: "Heavy Haul: the solution for Europe's future?", a title deliberately formulated - and with some justification - as a question, for in Europe, as elsewhere in the world, why should heavier trains not be one way of ending rail freight's stagnation and halting road haulage's unbridled growth? It is no secret that the European Commission is keen to boost modes that could provide an alternative to roads, for example railways, and to strike a better balance between road haulage and rail freight. This naturally begs the question of whether it would be advisable to adapt the rail networks for heavier traffic by raising axle loads. ERRI decided therefore to seek input from experts of the American and South African railways, old hands at working heavy haul trains, consultants who have studied the matter across the world and representatives of the principal European railways operating heavy trains regularly or on an experimental basis. Its aim was to see whether infrastructure enhancement to allow higher axle-loads would be one way of encouraging sufficient quantities of heavy freight to move from road to rail.
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