The eco-fuelled Gigaliner takes up residence at PPL The eco-fuelled Gigaliner takes up residence at PPL

Milan Žížala, Operations Manager at PPL, explains how the idea of using gigaliners was born: ‘We are always looking for savings on freight transport, and that is the reason why we decided to use gigaliners.’ Although the choice was relatively simple, getting permission to operate these oversized rigs is much more complicated. ‘They have to have a special permit from the Ministry of Transport, they have to have a precise route they can follow, and they have to be equipped with beacons at the front and at the back,’ adds Žížala.

Gigaliners allow the transport of larger quantities of shipments. ‘The car is the same as for a standard rig, but the tow is longer, so it can accommodate two bodies,’ explains Žížala. ‘By carrying three boxes instead of two, we can transport half as many packages in a single trip as we could fit on a standard truck,’ says Žížala.

The maximum speed of the gigalineras is the same as for trucks, i.e. 80 km/h, and a normal C+E licence is sufficient to drive them. Drivers are getting used to handling these long rigs, and some even consider driving a gigaliner a privilege. We currently operate three gigaliners on different routes between our depots and transshipment points, for example between Olomouc and Hradec Králové.

The deployment of gigaliners and the transition to clean fuel are important steps towards a sustainable future for PPL and the entire transport sector.