Japan's 320 mile long "conveyor belt" (self driving pallet truck) road

[Ghostbus]

Japan plans ‘conveyor belt road’ linking Tokyo and Osaka amid delivery driver shortage

It is hoped ‘innovative’ 24-hour design will also cut carbon emissions, as demand for delivery services soars

www.theguardian.com

Six decades after the bullet train first whisked passengers between Tokyo and Osaka, authorities in Japan are planning to do the same for cargo, with the construction of a “conveyor belt road”.

The automated cargo transport corridor, which will connect the capital with Osaka, 320 miles (515km) away, is seen as part of the solution to soaring demand for delivery services in the world’s fourth-biggest economy.

Planners also hope the road will ease pressure on delivery drivers amid a chronic labour shortage that is affecting everything from catering and retail to haulage and public transport.

The road will also help cut carbon emissions, according to Yuri Endo, a senior official at the transport ministry who is overseeing the project.

A computer-graphic video released by the government last month shows large containers on pallets – each capable of supporting up to a ton of produce – moving three abreast along an “auto flow road” in the middle of a motorway, with vehicles traveling in opposite directions on either side.

Automated forklifts will load items into the containers as part of a network that links airports, railways and ports.

Test runs are due to begin in 2027 or early 2028, with the road going into full operation in the middle of the next decade.

While no official estimates have been released, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said a road linking Tokyo and Osaka could cost up to ¥3.7tn [£18.6bn] given the large number of tunnels that would be needed.

Interesting proposal.

Not sure conveyor belt was the best choice of words, since obviously it's not one of those. Perhaps lost in translation?

I'm also not sure if this would require major civil engineering or is more of a re-arrangement of road space on the existing highway alignment. Even the latter would hardly be easy, hence the huge cost I guess. But certainly qualifies as investment for the future.

The technology certainly exists. The demand is there. It could probably be finished well before the benefits of automated trucks being integrated into the existing road network could be realised. And obviously if that happens, having an existing segregated lane, presumably wide enough for two proper automated trucks, already built into your main motorway, would be quite useful.
I suppose aerial delivery could be a threat, but surely moving the equivalent of 1 ton pallets every few seconds by air might not be the best use of drone battery capacity or indeed airspace! Airships on the other hand....?

Is the UK in any real position to commit to such a thing? Probably not. But you perhaps might have also said that about Japan, no? An economy in terminal decline, an ageing population. Not sure where they are in terms of planning rules and investment budget, but we're apparently going to see major changes there under the new government. And we certainly love an Amazon parcel and a road connected distribution park.

The ten year old boy in me also really wants to ask, what happens if there is a pile-up?

 

[HSTEd]

Well you could certainly build something like this with guided busway or VAL style technology, so its more a question of economics.

I guess the idea is that shipping individual pallets can beat road's "small load" advantage by going even smaller. Indeed, once its automated there is no particular need to aggregate loads at all.