How can a truck borrow a train's power supply?
A truck can collect electricity from overhead wires while keeping its rubber tires on the road. Siemens and Scania tested this approach on a Swedish highway in 2016, using hybrid trucks that could also travel away from the wires. Unlike an electric train, the truck needs an overhead return connection because the road cannot play the electrical role of a rail.
Questions you could explore
- Where would overhead power be most useful on a route that also includes ordinary roads?
Start reading
- SiemensWorld’s first eHighway opens in Sweden
Describes the dated Swedish trial and how the trucks could connect to the overhead supply or continue using their hybrid drive.
- SiemensInto the future: With eHighway
Explains the second overhead conductor: the electrical return path cannot run through the road as it can through railway rails.
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