Transdek UK is exhibiting its latest urban double deck trailer for Eddie Stobart at the Freight in the City Expo next month at London’s Alexandra Palace.

The company said the trailer can carry 100% more load than conventional forms of urban freight transport and offers the capability to cut delivery frequencies in half, reducing congestion, noise and pollution.

Freight in the City is a free-to-attend one-day expo that will bring together local authorities, suppliers and freight transport operators to explore ways to make goods deliveries in urban centres as clean, safe and quiet as possible.

Transdek has recognised a growing economic, as well as environmental, pressure to incorporate new strategies to reduce congestion on the roads.

This was highlighted in a recent whitepaper published by INRIX and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) suggests that, in comparison to the USA, Germany and France, by 2030, the UK will see the highest annual rise in the cost of congestion (at 66%), with a cost to the country of over £21bn a year. London is expected to have the fastest growing levels of congestion out of all cities included in the study.

Transdek's range of urban double-deck trailers carry up to 54 roll cages or 30 pallets, twice that of a typical 18-tonne or 26-tonne rigid, which the company said can create the opportunity to slash emissions and congestion by a much as 50%.

This additional volumetric capacity is achieved within the same height profile, or lower, as a standard single-deck trailer, while the company said the unit's standard external length of 10.6m is more manoeuvrable than equivalent rigid trucks. It has also developed rear door and tail-lift designs specifically adapted for the urban environment, which offer a safer, quieter and more secure operation.

Tony Sturgess, head of trailer design at Transdek UK, said the urban double-decker is ideal for retail outlets that do not have the capacity to take a full trailer delivery as it provides the ability for efficient multi-drop deliveries. The potential for this to increase efficiencies on collaborative projects between groups of retailers operating out of urban consolidation centres is also "really exciting", he added.

“Most operators think that loads should be consolidated out of town, with onward deliveries in small trucks and vans. This is an effective way of increasing vehicle fill and reducing the number of vehicles on urban roads, but will still leave a growing number of low-volume freight vehicles on the streets. However quiet and green these vehicles are, this will not help the issue of congestion," explained Sturgess.

“Transdek’s approach is different. We believe that volume is the core component to increasing overall logistics efficiency and reducing congestion. If each urban double-deck trailer on the roads is able to remove one rigid, or several smaller trucks, this opens up the potential to really tackle future congestion issues."

  • Book your free place today at Freight in the City and join hundreds of your industry peers at Alexandra Palace, London, on Tuesday 27 October.

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