Brussels, 11/12/2003 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European Commission approved French and Italian aid to the experimental rolling motorway service between Aiton and Orbassano on the Lyons-Turin section. This new service will be operated by the company, Autoroute Ferroviaire Alpine (AFA), a company under Italian law in which the main partners are the SNCF and Trenitalia, during the period 2003 to 2006. France and Italy may each grant EUR 23.5 million in economic support to the new service during the experimental period. The rolling motorway project is a transport system consisting in loading lorries onto shuttle trains which carry them and their drivers over distances of 200-300 kilometers. This system is an alternative to crossing the natural obstacles (such as the Alps) and allows road congestion and the adverse impact on the environment to be reduced. The Commission considers that the experimental nature of the project, the particularly difficult conditions under which the line is operated during the experimental period and the specific kind of technology used warrant public financial support. It also considers that aid is compatible with competition rules as it is limited to the experimental phase.