Memorandum from Mole Solutions (FT 45)
FREIGHT PIPELINES—AN INNOVATIVE SOLUTION
TO ROAD CONGESTION
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. Pipelines have been the preferred mode
of transporting water (both clean and dirty), oil, gas and chemicals
for decades. Imagine how congested the road and rail infrastructure
would be if pipelines did not transport these products: it is
the most economical, safe and environmentally friendly transport
mode. The economic and environmental benefits of this mode of
freight transport are well proven.
2. The Mail Rail system that operated under
the streets of London for 75 years, carrying Royal Mail's post,
led the world in pipelines for unitised freight. In the late 90s
an RMG-led consortium studied the modernisation and extension
of the system and concluded that while technically viable it appeared
to be only marginally economical to do so. The consequence of
this was that no further work was undertaken in the UK and the
system was mothballed in May 2003. A re-examination of the costs
and assumptions used in the development of the business case reveal
some fundamental errors which, had they been spotted and rectified
at the time, would have made the investment very attractive.
3. The problem of road congestion is a global
issue and the concept of freight pipelines is being actively developed
in many other countries: Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Japan,
USA and, most notably, China. All the required technologies exist
and the solution is to assemble the most appropriate of them into
a form that best fits the supply chains of the 21st century.
4. The benefits are:
4.1 Social—less accidents involving
HGVs (486 fatalities and 3,200 serious injuries in 2005); less
congestion, delays and frustration
4.2 Economic—reduced road construction
and repair; reduction in direct cost of congestion ("5% reduction
in travel time = £2.5 billion of cost saving, or 0.2% GDP"—The
Eddington Study); opportunities for exploiting new technology
4.3 Business—improved, faster,
more reliable and simplified supply chains; lower transport and
packaging costs; reduction in non-productive areas at retail,
logistics and manufacturing sites
4.4 Environmental—powered by
electricity, potentially from sustainable sources; inherently
more efficient use of energy (approximately 20% of HGVs energy
consumption); significant reductions in all current freight derived
air pollutants; noise and visual impact dramatically reduced.
5. A study undertaken in 2004 on behalf
of the New York Energy Research and Development Authority examined
the Feasibility of Underground Freight Transport in New York
City. Six different applications were studied including the
transportation of solid waste, distribution of palletised goods
and dispatching of shipping containers. All the applications were
confirmed to be technically and economically feasible which, if
implemented, would remove 70% of the truck movements from the
streets of New York.
6. Volume 3 of The Eddington Study is
intended to "Open up the full range of policy options"
but these options did not include modal transfer of freight to
rail, water or pipeline.
7. The development cost and timescale of
a significant freight pipeline system compares favourably with
that for road pricing and the business case should be developed
to the same level of accuracy as that for road pricing.
QUESTIONS
— Why have pallet carrying pipelines
not been developed in the UK?
— What percentage of truck movements
could be removed from the roads of the UK if freight pipelines
were developed?
— What would be the effect on
congestion of taking x% of freight vehicles off the road network?
— What would be the potential
benefits of combining road pricing and freight pipelines?
Mole Solutions was formed in 2002 with the objective
of developing this environmentally friendly freight transport
system. We strongly believe that the UK needs to examine and develop
this concept and fully participate in influencing and shaping
the next freight transport revolution designed for the 21st century.
1. Introduction
Pipelines have been the preferred mode of transporting
water (both clean and dirty), oil, gas and chemicals for decades.
Imagine how congested the road and rail infrastructure would be
if pipelines did not transport these products: it is the most
economical, safe and environmentally friendly transport mode.
The economic and environmental benefits of this mode of freight
transport are well proven. This submission presents:
— a summary of the global developments
in freight pipelines;
— lessons from the global development;
— benefits of this mode of freight
transport; potential applications;
— the technologies required;
— the potential UK picture;
— candidate site for the first
application; and
— fundamental questions to be
considered.
2. Global developments
2.1 The problem of congestion is a global
issue and the concept of freight pipelines is being actively developed
in many other countries: Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Japan,
USA and, most notably, China. All the required technologies exist
and the solution is to select and assemble the most appropriate
of them into a form that best fits the UK supply chains of the
21st century.
2.2 In Germany the CargoCap system has been
in development since 1998 and a test track has been operational
since December 2006. The CargoCap Project was awarded the Deutschland—Land
der Ideen Prize in 2006 and recently mentioned in the Economist
as an emerging transport solution of European significance.
The capsule here is designed to carry two pallets.
The internal test track.
2.3 In the USA, a study undertaken in 2004 on
behalf of the New York Energy Research and Development Authority
examined the Feasibility of Underground Freight Transport in
New York City.
Six different applications were studied:
— supporting tunnelling for new
utilities—materials in, waste out;
— taking rubbish to remote treatment
and disposal sites;
— collecting and distributing
mail and parcels;
— transporting palletised goods;
— taking freight containers from
ports to inland destinations; and
— ferrying complete road trucks
off roads.
All the applications were confirmed to be technically
and economically feasible which, if implemented, would remove
70% of the truck movements from the streets of New York.
2.4 At the international freight pipeline
conference held in Dallas in March 2008, the Chinese delegation
presented papers on their development projects, which include
palletised goods distribution systems for major cities, and the
movement of shipping containers at Yangshan, the major container
port for Shanghai.
2.5 In the UK, the "Mail Rail"
system operated under the streets of London from 1927 until May
being "moth-balled" in 2003.
2.6 In the late 90s an RMG-led consortium
studied the modernisation and extension of the system (the Metrofreight
Project) and concluded that while technically viable it appeared
to be only marginally economical to do so. In 2004 Royal Mail
invited proposals for alternative uses of the tunnels and Mole
Solutions proposal was the only freight solution in the short
list of three, although none were progressed for commercial evaluation.
Since then a re-examination of the Metrofreight costs and assumptions
used in the development of the business case reveal some fundamental
errors which, had they been identified and rectified at the time,
would have made the investment very attractive.
3. Lessons from global development
— First and foremost, it's a vital
business issue and not an academic exercise, academia has a role
to play in the development of the concept but the development
should be business led.
— Crucial to "Size the TOTAL
Prize" not just the direct cost savings. The experience of
the oil industry in identifying indirect cost benefits and environmental
advantages should be added to the direct savings of automation,
energy efficiency, etc.
— The fundamental business process
is the Supply Chain and the proposed system must fit with existing
operations.
— All the required technologies
exist—the answer is to develop the "smart" solution.
— The Chinese already have full
governmental backing and look likely to implement the first freight
pipeline systems: solid waste; urban distribution; shipping container
movement.
— Underground freight movement
is potentially as important a transport step as the Stockton to
Darlington steam railway.
4. Benefits of freight pipelines
These are well established in the oil, gas and
chemicals sectors and can be grouped as follows:
Social:
— Less accidents involving HGVs,
responsible for 486 fatalities and 3,200 serious injuries in 2005.
— Less congestion delays and related
frustration.
Economic:
— Reduced road construction and
repair as HGVs are largely removed from the motorways and A-roads.
The cost of repair for the proposed capsules system are much less
as they are much lighter than HGVs and have many fewer moving
parts.
— The most cost effective way
of increasing transport infrastructure capacity.
— Benefits from reducing the direct
cost of congestion. The Eddington Study cites that a 5% reduction
in travel time is equal to a cost saving of £2.5 billion,
or 0.2% of GDP.
— Opportunities and spin-off's
arising from applying the new technology.
Business:
— Improved, faster, more reliable
and simplified supply chains.
— Lower transport and packaging
costs.
— Less inventory, less warehouse
space.
— Reduction in non productive
areas at manufacturing, logistics and retail sites.
Environmental:
— Energy potentially from sustainable
sources—much lower carbon footprint.
— Inherently more efficient use
of energy.
— Significant reductions in all
current freight derived air pollutants.
— Noise and visual impact dramatically
reduced.
5. Potential applications
Three discrete sizes of pipelines are being
developed around the world:
— 1.0m internal diameter for the
mining sector, major construction projects, solid waste collection
and the postal and package sectors;
— approximately 2 metre diameter
for conventional palletised and roll cage systems;
— 4.5 metre diameter for the transport
of shipping containers from congested ports to secure inland centres.
Ultimately, the extent of the network could
be analogous to the pre-Beeching rail network when every town
had its own freight yard and many major manufacturers had their
own sidings for direct access to the network. It is proposed that
freight pipelines could be laid beside, or under the existing
transport infrastructure thus reducing the planning and construction
time. The cost of construction is dependent on the size of pipe
and the method of laying the pipeline. For example, a 2 metre
pipeline costs about £0.5 million per kilometre when laid
in "cut and fill" trenches and approximately four times
that when bored.
6. Technologies required
Operating examples exist in all elements of
the required technologies:
— Tunnelling and civil engineering—no
new challenges (Arup);
— Propulsion—linear induction
as already used on Heathrow T1—T4 baggage transfer and Schipol;
— Capsules—automated baggage
systems; Japanese have operated a capsule pipeline system since
1983; Mail Rail was a rail based underground automated system;
— Materials handling—many
sophisticated, reliable, cost effective systems;
— Tracking and control—Baggage
handling systems; post and parcel sortation;
— IT—numerous examples already
exist of complex systems: space, telecommunications, banking,
transport, etc.
The winning combination puts these, and other
already proven technologies, together in the ideal package.
7. Potential UK picture
As with any other infrastructure network the
benefits of the system increase with the geographic coverage.
All network systems, eg road, rail, telecommunications, have to
start somewhere and increase in size as the awareness of the benefits
and economic viability are established. The Eddington Study concluded
that "...Logistics companies can deliver to over 75% of the
UK population from their West Midlands warehouse hubs in a half-day
truck drive." This area covers 80+% of the UK's GDP and is
served by approximately 1,100 miles of motorway and trunk roads.
8. Candidate sites for the first application
The Eddington Study recommends the priority
areas as: "congested and growing city catchments; key inter
urban corridors; key international gateways." Therefore a
system serving London, much like that proposed in the Metrofreight
Project of the late 1990s is a strong candidate. Likewise, a system
serving Merseyside would meet all three of The Study's criteria.
9. Fundamental questions
Our work to date has given rise to some pertinent
questions:
— What percentage of truck movements
could be removed from the roads of the UK if freight pipelines
were developed?
— What would be the effect on
congestion of taking x% of freight vehicles off the road network
to rail, water or pipeline?
— What would be the potential
benefits of combining the two initiatives: road pricing and freight
pipelines?
— Can government be persuaded
to seize the opportunity and take the initiative to investigate
this form of infrastructure movement as they clearly hold the
vital key to unlatching the door and bringing together the co-operation
needed to investigate viability and go on to exploit the future
opportunities?
June 2008
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