Road trains capable of slashing the carbon emissions from many firms supply chains will not appear on UK roads after Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly ruled that so-called Longer Heavier Vehicles (LHVs) will not permitted in the UK.

The haulage industry said this week that it was deeply disappointed by the decision, claiming that the government had missed an opportunity to curb emissions from the transport sector and should have authorised trials for larger lorries before reaching a decision.

Kelly's decision was based on a Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) report into the economic, environmental and operational impact of operating larger lorries, which highlighted a range of benefits and risks associated with the approach.

However, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) said that the concerns raised in the report did not justify an outright veto and accused the government of using the study to avoid authorising potentially unpopular trials.

"The government did not want to approve road trains from the start," said a spokesman for the trade group. "Their use would require some upgrades to the road network and drivers tend not to like them as they are difficult to overtake – however, they would also result in fewer trucks on the road and lower emissions, and the government has not considered the pros and cons for long enough."

CILT chief executive Steve Agg said that the government should have undertaken physical trials of LHVs before reaching a final decision. "The fact that the Secretary of State has used the emotive term "super-lorry" suggests a biased approach," he said. "The sensible decision would have been to specify trials which could have provided real data and tangible experience in order to reach an objective conclusion."

He added that such trials would be relatively simple to undertake as long as they were confined to appropriate stretches of the motorway network and downplayed concerns that such vehicles would contribute to congestion. Even if LHVs were approved it is likely that their usage would be limited and, in certain circumstances, they could actually make sense," he said. "Therefore, to say we are disappointed with this announcement is an understatement."

A spokeswoman for the DfT said that the TRL report had demonstrated that it would not be suitable to carry out trials as the current road network and traffic management systems were not set up to support LHVs.

She added that it was questionable as to whether LHVs would deliver a net reduction in carbon emissions as they could be used to replace rail freight. " There is a risk, substantial in some cases, that this would bring environmental drawbacks, as well as having an impact on the potential future growth of the rail freight sector," she said. "Wherever appropriate the Government is keen to promote the movement of freight by rail or water rather than road."

So-called road trains are proving increasingly popular in countries such as the US and Australia, where hauliers recognise them as a means of cutting carbon emissions and enhancing fuel efficiency at a time of soaring gas prices. Canadian firm Bison Transportation, for example, recently claimed to have cut greenhouse gas emissions by 38 per cent through the use of combination trucks capable of hauling two trailers with one cab.