Climate and energy transition

The city of Amsterdam is testing a scheme to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution by using freight trams to deliver goods in the inner city.

 

Narrow, traffic-laden canals and streets make transport and deliveries difficult.in Amsterdam. This is the reason why the city council has decided to launch a pilot project to develop cargo transport in the city by freight tram.

 

The project is an initiative of a private company called CityCargo Amsterdam BV. Its is based on the assessment that most routes have capacity for more trams than they currently carry.

 

The cargo trams run independently from passenger trams. Also, two transfer points have been established where the goods are unloaded onto small electrically powered vehicles, "E cars", that deliver the goods to their final delivery address.

 

From 2008, around 50 special cargo trams and around 400 E cars will be able to supply shops, supermarkets and the catering industry. In the longer term, cargo trams should replace delivery by 2,500 trucks per day.

 

More information on the City Cargo Amsterdam pilot project

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