High & Heavy transport

Following its role as infrastructure company, viadonau actively strives to increase the competitiveness of Danube navigation through targeted measures, thus strengthening Austria as a business location. Together with national and international partners, viadonau is working towards an increase in use and the modernization of Danube navigation and perceives itself as a strong partner of the Austrian business sector.

The thematic focus of this project on high & heavy transports (H&H) is based on a regular market observation and in close cooperation with stakeholders from the Danube logistics sector and the industry. Especially during the last years, this cargo group seems to offer very high potential for Danube Navigation.

Compared to the transport via roads, shipping of high & heavy cargo via inland vessels offers several advantages. Due to the great cargo hold and the high transport capacity offered by a Danube vessel, break bulk like power transformers, construction machinery and cranes, big tanks and other construction parts can be transported by ship and do not need to be shipped as an oversize-transport. A shift of these transports from road to the more environmentally-friendly inland navigation would in most cases not only substitute the loaded run, but also the needed accompanying transport security and in some cases the empty run back.

This project aims to analyse and define critical success factors and restraints for high & heavy transports via inland vessel to establish necessary activities in cooperation with experts from the sector. This should force the shift of transports towards inland navigation.

Based on the collected findings from the project (as well as from other completed projects in the past) a catalogue of recommended measures is created, which should force the transport via Danube on national and international level. The recommended measures will be discussed with other relevant national authorities to consolidate and transform them into a joint catalogue of actions supporting an efficient and ecological transport system.

The draft strategy prepared in 2019: "Strategy for shifting high & heavy transports to the Danube" was reviewed in 2020 in various working groups and further bilateral meetings since 2020. The Federal Ministry for Climate Protection (BMK), the provincial approval authorities for special road transport, ASFINAG, the Austrian Economic Chamber and various decision-makers from the logistics sector were involved in order to jointly define and implement targeted measures.

The final roadmap strategy, including all measures, was presented by the end of 2022. At the same time, the implementation of individual projects has already begun. One measure was already taken at the beginning of 2022 in cooperation with the BMK and the provincial authorities for the approval of special transports by road: since 1 January 2022, inland waterway vessels must be used primarily for transporting particularly heavy, wide and high transports that cross the Danube corridor. Initially implemented in a 12-month pilot phase, this change was incorporated into regular operations from 1 January 2023 and its implementation will continue to be monitored as part of regular evaluation dates until the end of 2024.

After several years of experience, a significant modal shift effect can now be recognised from the decreasing number of special transport applications received by road. This is an important first step in relieving the burden on road infrastructure, increasing road safety and reducing climate-damaging emissions.

By the end of 2024, implementation of all other measures had also begun or been fully realised together with the partners and stakeholders. The project was completed in 2024.

As part of the project, the folder ‘High & Heavy transports by inland waterway vessel’, which was already available in German, was also published in English and can be downloaded free of charge from the viadonau website: High & Heavy transports by inland waterway vessel.