A system of freight transport using rails through underground pipelines is currently being tested near Cambridge (United Kingdom).
If successfully deployed in cities, such a system would help to reduce traffic congestion and environmental pollution by decreasing the number of delivery vehicles operating on streets.
Mole Solutions, the company that developed the concept, sees such a system being used to transport goods from suburban distribution areas to city centres.
The system consists of capsules which move along rails and are propelled by electromagnets. They are then covered by durable steel and concrete coverings, and other infrastructure such as pedestrian paths, cycle lanes or roads can be built on top of them.
Mole Solutions has secured co-funding from Innovate UK, the British government’s innovation agency, to continue researching and gathering data. The company is also negotiating with UK cities that have shown interest in the concept.
Original author: Lewis Macdonald
Picture: Mole Solutions Ltd
