20 associations make (another) pledge against gigaliners regulation
Author: Marco Raimondi
24.02.2026 | The Weights and Dimensions Directive (WDD) needs to be fixed before European Modular Systems, also known as gigaliners, are deployed all over the Old Continent and disrupt intermodality. However, EU institutions do not seem to be willing to safeguard the rail sector in an already very delicate period. Associations from all over Europe are now, once again, asking to amend the Directive so that it provides “safer and cleaner road transport solutions for its citizens that are fully interoperable with all modes of transport”.
The text of the WDD is currently under trialogue negotiations (between the European Commission, Parliament, and Council). According to the 20 associations, it “does not adequately address the proposal’s potential negative impacts on modal shift, intermodal terminals, road safety, infrastructure wear, congestion, or the interoperability between transport modes”.
Adopting this version would have serious repercussions on the already declining modal share of rail and combined road-rail transport despite enormous investments in rail infrastructure and intermodal terminals. Moreover, a large-scale deployment of gigaliners would negatively impact road wear and tear and increase the risk of serious accidents. Finally, the 20 parties underlined, the higher maintenance and infrastructure costs will fall onto public budgets and, consequently, taxpayers.
Five proposals to fix it
In order to make the WDD beneficial for all modalities and not have a negative societal impact, the 20 associations presented a joint statement with five proposals. First, the higher weight allowances included in the current text need to “be limited exclusively to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), explicitly excluding Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) trucks”. For example, the extra weight should be used to store the batteries of electric vehicles, not to store more cargo on ICE vehicles and make trucking even more cost attractive.
Additionally, larger trucks should ideally still fit on freight wagons. “This requires clear and enforceable limits on vehicle length and configuration, including a strict maximum cap on any length derogation”, the signatories stressed. The third proposal from the associations envisions the introduction of ex-ante and ex-post impact assessments as well as stricter regulations on weight and cross-border traffic.
Another interesting proposal would see the allocation of “revenues stemming from Weights and Dimensions infringement penalties to sustainable and combined transport”. This was also brought forward by the European Parliament and would create a pool for direct investments aimed at boosting the modal shift. Lastly, the signatories are asking for operational clarity through an EU-level information framework.
We All Pay For
This is far from being the first call for change when it comes to the WDD. Since its announcement, most of the sector was asking to develop it jointly with the Combined Transport Directive (CTD). However, this will probably not happen as the negotiators did not show interest and almost killed the CTD. One of the largest initiatives to raise awareness on the possible negative impact of the WDD is We All Pay For, launched by Rail Freight Forward in December 2025 and highlighting the costs of deploying gigaliners.