Motorway Toll for Trucks to Launch 2005

Toll Collect, a consortium set up to develop, install and operate a state-of-the-art toll system for lorries and trucks using Germany's overcrowded motorways, said Tuesday that final testing had been completed without any major blips, paving the way for a launch in the New Year. Ten weeks of final testing had gone more or less smoothly, Toll Collect said. "Everything is going according to plan. There's nothing standing in the way of a start at the beginning of next year," said the consortium's new chief Christoph Bellmer. The final green light from the Federal Goods Transport Department was still outstanding, but was expected by mid-December. Originally scheduled for launch in 2003, the system was hit by a series of serious technical glitches, much to the embarrassment of both the Toll Collect consortium -- which comprises telecom giant Deutsche Telekom, auto giant DaimlerChrysler and French motorway operator Cofiroute -- and the government.