The proposed network of massive belts, called the Autoflow-Road would use tunnels under major highways linking Japan’s two biggest cities, as well above-ground tracks that run in the middle of roads. It is the idea of a panel within the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
The proposal of the Ministry states that additional tracks could be built alongside the hard shoulder on motorways.
“Automated logistic roads are designed to make the most of road space, by utilizing hard shoulders, median stripes [central reservations] or tunnels under the roadway,” said Shuya Muramaatsu, a senior officer in the road economics research bureau.
“Our study examines the impact of road traffic, as well as on nearby roads and costs.”
The Autoflow-Road plan comes at a time when Japan, with its rapidly aging population, is facing a shortage of delivery drivers. New rules limit their weekly overtime to only 18 hours.
Nomura Research Institute released a study earlier this month that estimated that 1.4 million tonnes of freight would be transported by road by 2030, down from 1.43 billion tons in 2020.
The shortage of delivery drivers in Japan is expected to worsen. The workforce is projected to drop from 660,000 by 2020 to only 480,000 by 2030, a 36 percent deficit that could cause the transport industry to be unable to meet the freight demand within six years.
According to the study, the impact will be greatest in rural areas, with Tohoku’s northeastern region and Shikoku’s southern region facing a 41 percent driver shortage.
Fuel costs and wages will continue to rise, which will increase delivery prices throughout the country.
Tetsuo Saito, the transport minister, revealed the Autoflow-Road Plan on Sunday. He said that it would “not only help address the logistic crisis, but will also reduce greenhouse gas emission.” We would like to move quickly with the discussion on this matter.
The ministry wants to use existing conveyor belt systems with high capacity, such as the 23km belt used at Torigatayama Limestone Mine in Kochi Prefecture or the 100km system that transports phosphate from an isolated mine in Western Sahara to its nearest port. These large-scale conveyor systems could be used as a model for Autoflow-Road’s above-ground cargo tracks.
The 500km project from Tokyo to Osaka, whether it is installed in tunnels or along the roadside, will dwarf both of these existing systems. The ministry stated that it aimed to optimize the use of automated collection technologies and delivery systems to improve processing speed and minimise manual input.
The ministry expects to place pallets up to a tonne in weight on the conveyor belt. This could run 24 hours a days and deliver the same amount as 25,000 drivers.
Muramatsu was cautious in his assessment of the cost of the project and only said that it was “under consideration”. He did not give a timeline or a cost estimate for the system’s operation.
The Yomiuri Newspaper estimated that the Autoflow-Road will face the biggest challenge in terms of cost, with the construction of the underground conveyor belt and tunnel potentially reaching 80 billion Japanese yen ($508 million) for a 10km stretch.
Yoshitsugu Haashi, professor of transport systems and policy at Chubu University, says that there has been a growing need to find solutions for Japan’s looming transportation crisis. He said that various ideas have been proposed over the last 25 years. The Autoflow-Road seems to be the preferred solution to the problem.
He said: “It is important that we develop an automatic train-like system to deliver goods because of the challenges we face in terms of labour force, but also because we must reduce carbon dioxide emissions, particle-matter emissions, and other pollutants which can have a direct effect on human health.”
“The surface is getting more and more crowded, so tunnels beneath expressways are a sensible solution.” The basic infrastructure for the project is already in place, such as the space available in the median strip and hard shoulders of existing highways.