Sweden integrates electric rail into road for trucks

Sweden has inaugurated a stretch of road incorporating a rail that can supply vehicles with electricity. The vehicles must be equipped with a moving arm to make contact with the rail.

This is a two-kilometre stretch that connects a distribution terminal at the Arlanda airport near Stockholm with a logistics site. The road has now been put into use as a test for trucks transporting goods from the transport company PostNord.

These trucks must be fitted with a moving arm under the chassis. The arm can be lowered to make contact with the metal strip in the road surface, so that the batteries of the electric trucks are supplied with power.

The strip is divided into segments that only have power when a vehicle is driving above it. As soon as a vehicle stops, the tension is released from the rails. Rails were chosen for the project because they can be installed quickly in existing roads: up to a kilometer per hour. In contrast to overhead lines, the technology also works simply in combination with vehicles of different heights.

This is a test in which Trafikverket, the Swedish government agency for transport, looks at how the installation functions in different traffic situations and weather conditions.