Volvo Trucks launches first road train for logistics

Volvo Trucks introduced its first ‘Road Train ‘in India. A more extensive freight transport system, popular in countries such as Australia and the United States, uses a single truck to pick up multiple trailers in one run. The initiative, also the result of a collaboration with logistics major Delhivery, is a giant leap toward modernising the country’s freight transport system, making operations more efficient and catering to the ever-growing needs of e-commerce and supply chain logistics. The Road Train aims to revolutionise long-distance freight movement in the nation.

Road Trains are a concept adopted in countries such as Australia, Canada, and the United States. They allow a single truck (tractor unit) to pull multiple trailers in a train-like road configuration. The system transports more in one go, using less fuel. Considering the prospects for this system to mitigate the vast logistics demand in India, which is expected to triple in the next decade, Volvo Trucks has customised this concept to keep up with the Indian market needs.

The volumetric part of the Volvo Road Train system is the heavy-weight class Volvo FM 420 4×2 tractor unit. An industrial-strength machine conceived to meet the challenges of moving lengthy cargo in diverse environments.

The deployment of the Road Train system is further underpinned by the strategic partnership between Volvo Trucks and Delhivery, one of India’s leading logistics service providers. In the first phase, we will deploy these advanced tractor-trailer combinations on routes between major hubs- Nagpur and Bhiwandi. Due to the high freight traffic in this corridor, this serves as an ideal testing location to collect and analyse data to assess system performance in real-world environments.