The Japanese government is planning to connect major cities with zero-emission, automated logistics links that can quietly and efficiently move millions of tons of cargo… taking tens of thousands of trucks off the road.
The project has been under discussion since February by a panel of experts from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. A draft report has already been published revealing plans to complete a Initial link between Tokyo and Osaka in 2034.
It all stems from one concern: Japan’s demographic collapse, which predicts severe labor restrictions in the coming years. The specific problem this project aims to reduce is the rise in online shopping, while the number of delivery drivers is declining. The country estimates that around 30% of packages will not reach their destination by 2030… because there will be no one to deliver them.
This logistics link, the team says, will move as much small cargo between Tokyo and Osaka as 25,000 trucks. Exactly how it will do this has not yet been determined, but they want individual pallets to carry up to a ton of items, without human interference from one end to the other.
One possibility is to use giant conveyor belts to cover the 500km (310 miles) distance between the two cities, along the highway or possibly through tunnels under the road. Another option would be for the infrastructure to consist of flat lanes or tunnels, with pallets moved by automated electric vehicles.
A 500-kilometre tunnel would be incredibly expensive, at around €23 billion (not counting conveyor belts or autonomous vehicles). One might wonder whether autonomous electric trucks could do the job without the infrastructure requirements: 2034 is the project’s start date, and given the current state of driverless technology, it might be plausible that autonomous vehicles would be on the road on certain roads by then.
The ministry has appealed to private companies to fund the project, and it appears to be serious. “The project will not only address the logistics crisis, but will also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Tetsuo Saito. “We would like to move forward quickly with discussions on the matter.”
