Longer and heavier vehicles in Belgium: A threat for the intermodal sector?

To achieve transport cost reductions and to reduce the environmental impact of road transport, different European countries are allowing or testing longer and heavier vehicles on their road network. In Belgium, the Flanders region started a trial in 2015 allowing a limited number of longer and heavier vehicles on a selection of approved routes. A concern among intermodal operators is however that an allowance of longer and heavier vehicles could trigger a reverse modal shift away from rail and inland waterways container transport. Starting from experiences in other European countries, this paper discusses the potential spatial impact of allowing longer and heavier vehicles on the market areas of intermodal transhipment terminals using a geographic information systems-based location analysis model. In a second step, external transport costs are incorporated in this model, to quantify the spatially diversified societal costs of a potential reverse modal shift.