Intermodal freight requires a coherent framework on weights and dimensions
Following the Council’s formal adoption of its general approach on the Weights and Dimensions Directive (WDD) amendment in December 2025, the trilogue negotiations between the European co-legislators have started. The objective should be to identify a balanced compromise that (1) accelerates the decarbonisation of freight transport through the deployment of Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEVs), (2) harmonises the rules for longer and/or heavier trucks in cross-border operations by introducing the European Modular Systems (EMS) concept and (3) facilitates an increased use of intermodal alternatives, in particular by using electric rail freight.
In these negotiations, a key challenge will be to avoid the adoption of amendments that further reinforce the already dominant position of unimodal road haulage through the artificial reduction of operating costs under the pretext of decarbonisation. In this context, the intermodal sector calls for a fair level-playing field supported by coherent, effective and proportionate measures. This position paper outlines the key considerations towards the European co-legislators to integrate into the trilogue compromise.
Key considerations
- The Greening Freight Transport Package must remain a single and coherent framework. Intermodal interoperability and compatibility should be mandatory requirements in the WDD, and intermodal-specific provisions should be fully integrated into the revised CTD to ensure a fair and balanced regulatory ecosystem for all modes of land transport.
- The proposed incentives in the WDD must target only zero-emission vehicles and intermodal freight transport. UIRR supports a weight allowance for zero-emission road vehicles of up to 4 tonnes with axle-based differentiation, ensuring payload parity with diesel vehicles, while preventing future weight savings from increasing the maximum permitted payload. No transitional benefits should apply to fossil-fuel powered vehicles. Cross-border truck gross weight limit should remain at 40 tonnes, while intermodal freight transport should be harmonised to 44 tonnes for all loading units and axle combinations.
- European Modular Systems (EMS) reduce intermodal attractiveness. Facilitating their cross-border operations risks undermining intermodal freight transport, potentially causing a reverse modal shift of up to 21% for conventional rail freight and 16% for combined transport. Due to operational challenges at terminals, UIRR calls for consistent compatibility, permitting only standardised configurations, and requiring Member States to conduct ex-ante and ex-post assessments that extend to the impact on combined transport. An EMS-positive road network should be defined by each Member State allowing the circulation of such vehicles.
Single public national access points (NAPs) and an EU‑level information portal should be established. NAPs are the authentic harmonised sources for information on maximum allowed vehicle weights, dimensions, EMS configurations, and infrastructure restrictions, including conditions for zero-emission vehicles. A central European information portal should complement NAPs by aggregating national data and supporting interoperability for cross-border operations.
- More information on https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2025/12/04/council-sets-position-on-maximum-weights-and-dimensions-for-road-vehicles/