Would transporting goods via underground
pipelines? On 16 April, LogistiekProfs.nl published an article about MoleSolutions, a start-up from the UK that is investigating the possibilities for this
and plans to launch a pilot scheme in Northampton. Shortly before that, Wim van de
Camp, a CDA Member of the European Parliament, presented his vision for the future of European
transport, which included, amongst other things, a focus on freight transport via pipelines between
Tilburg and Eindhoven, for example. Van de Camp referred to this as ‘tube post’ during
an interview on NPO Radio 1.
The ideas for underground goods transport are
anything but new. Fifteen to twenty years ago,
various studies were carried out into ‘underground logistics systems’ (OLS).
The most concrete proposal was for an underground transport system between
the Aalsmeer Flower Auction and Schiphol. This would have required the construction of a tunnel with a diameter of
two metres would need to be constructed, through which unmanned vehicles would transport parcels measuring
1.25 x 1.25 x 6.00 metres. Partly in view of the large volume
of flowers and plants that are flown daily from Aalsmeer via Schiphol to destinations
all over the world, this seemed an attractive concept. However,
it was never actually implemented.
Above-ground alternatives
The same applies to the many OLS concepts for which
various cities in the Netherlands have commissioned research into. All
studies reached the same conclusions: investment costs are too high and do not
outweigh the benefits. In some cases, the focus of the research has shifted from
underground logistics systems to unimpeded logistics systems
above ground. The most recent example is the idea for an unimpeded logistics
system between the port of Born and the VDL Nedcar car factory. These
above-ground variants have not yet been realised.
Chances of success?
Does the initiative by the British company Mole Solutions have a
of success? What speaks in favour of this start-up is that it has not first
spent endless time
endless discussions with all manner of government bodies and consultancy firms about potential routes and business cases, but instead set about
working system. Mole Solutions has developed capsules that
can be linked together and travel along rails through a pipe.
Each capsule can hold two pallets, which will soon be loaded and unloaded fully automatically
loaded and unloaded. Once the hardware is ready, the concept will naturally
come to life much more vividly. Something that seems futuristic on paper suddenly becomes
realistic.
The importance of logistics service providers
What makes implementation difficult is the way in which
transport is organised today. The vast majority of companies have
outsourced their transport to logistics service providers, which means that all
transport-related problems, such as congestion andCO₂ emissions, have
primarily the problems of the service providers. These
service providers, in turn, rely on transport for their livelihood and have no incentive to
investing in an underground logistics system that would
come to a standstill. Breaking this deadlock requires a great deal of courage, a great deal of patience and
, above all, a great deal of money.
Marcel te Lindert - journalist logistics and supply chain management
