Germany is preparing to relax its traditional Sunday and holiday truck ban as extremely low water levels on the Rhine increasingly disrupt freight transport. Approximately 44 percent of the Rhine monitoring stations are already classified as extremely low.
The emergency measure could help industry, but may also put more heavy trucks on some of Europe’s busiest holiday routes at the height of the summer travel season.
Limited loads
Many large companies, such as BASF, Thyssenkrupp, Shell, and Lanxess, operate production sites along the Rhine and depend heavily on barges for transporting raw materials and finished products. With water levels at exceptionally low levels, vessels can carry only a fraction of their normal loads on parts of the river.
German Transport Minister Steffen Bilger has therefore announced, following consultations with industry and logistics representatives, a temporary lifting of the standard Sunday and public holiday driving ban for trucks, to help supply the industry.
To be clear, Germany is not planning to abolish its Sunday truck ban altogether; the measure will only remain in place “as long as necessary.” There will also be no temporary driving ban on Saturdays; consequently, Saturday is traditionally the busiest day for holiday traffic.
It will, for the time being, remain largely free of heavy goods traffic. Moreover, the federal states must decide autonomously on the temporary measure.
No trucks allowed on Sundays
Under German rules, commercial goods vehicles weighing more than 7.5 tons and trucks towing trailers are generally prohibited from driving between midnight and 10 p.m. on Sundays and public holidays.
During the summer holiday season, an additional restriction applies on busy holiday routes on Saturdays between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. from July 1 until August 31.
The temporary relaxation of the ban could help the industry. However, allowing more heavy traffic on the roads on Sundays could be noticeable for motorists. Sunday is traditionally one of the few days on which German motorways are relatively free of heavy trucks.
The proposed exemptions could put tankers, chemical transports, and other freight back onto the roads precisely when large numbers of holidaymakers are returning home.
So, for holidaymakers, the drought could have an unexpected and unpleasant consequence: a problem that started on Germany’s rivers may make its normally quiet Sunday autobahns considerably busier. For Belgian holidaymakers, the classic Aachen-Cologne-Frankfurt route is especially relevant.
No Belgian Sunday ban
Nothing is changing regarding Belgian legislation, but Belgium could also feel some of the effects. Unlike Germany, Belgium has no general Sunday and public holiday driving ban for ordinary heavy goods traffic.
As a consequence, exceptions for low-water-related freight would effectively open a Sunday corridor between Belgian ports and German industrial regions.
The only difference is that more international haulers may now have a reason to actually drive through Belgium on Sundays, since they are permitted to enter the country.
That could generate additional heavy traffic on routes such as the E313 between Antwerp and Liège, the E40 towards Aachen, and connections through the Netherlands to the Ruhr area.
Other transport options
Meanwhile, Germany is also seeking solutions beyond road transport. The government wants to appoint a special coordinator to facilitate rail transport in the affected areas, and DB Cargo is reportedly making additional capacity available across Europe.
Incidentally, problems with low water levels are not only occurring on the Rhine; other rivers, such as the Elbe and the Danube, are also grappling with the issue.
