AFTER YEARS of negotiations, Roadrailers are to enter commercial service in France this month. An initial fleet of 30 vans, mostly curtain-sided, is to operate on CNC routes such as Paris - Perpignan. Able to run at 120 km/h, they will have disc-braked bogies with a 22·5 tonne axleload. Wabash National also expects to supply another 500 units to Germany, where a fleet of 500 has been in use for some time on services linking Hamburg, München and Verona via the Brenner route through Austria.
With 8000 units in North America, the company is looking further south. There are two proposals in Mexico: one with TFM, and another with Ferromex and Mexfresh, for service from Guadalajara to Nogales and Tijuana. Argentinian and Brazilian operator ALL has ordered 160 RoadRailer trailers and bogies for 1 000 and 1 435 mm gauge. A São Paulo - Porto Alegre service began in March, to be followed by São Paulo - Buenos Aires.
