High-Speed Catamaran Could Ease Road Congestion

A new high-speed cargo catamaran could significantly reduce the number of lorry journeys on European roads thanks to a grant of almost one million euros from the EU’s Framework Programme. PACSCAT (Partial Air Cushion Supported Catamaran) is a 30 month project to evaluate the possibility of using high-speed river transport to help deal with the rapid growth in freight movement throughout Europe. The capacity of each catamaran will be around 2,000 tonnes - the equivalent of 45 truck loads – and it will be able to travel at almost 25 miles (37km) an hour, making it a much more realistic alternative to road transport than anything else currently available.