Japan is planning to build an automated cargo transport corridor between Tokyo and Osaka, dubbed a “conveyor belt road” by the government, to make up for a shortage of truck drivers.
Advertisement
The amount of funding for the project is not yet set but it is seen as one way to help the country cope with soaring deliveries.
A computer graphics video made by the government shows big, wheeled boxes moving along a three-lane corridor, also called an “auto flow road,” in the middle of a big highway. A trial system is due to start test runs in 2027 or early 2028, aiming for full operations by the mid-2030s.
“We need to be innovative with the way we approach roads,” said Yuri Endo, a senior deputy director overseeing the effort at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Apart from making up for a shrinking labour force and the need to reduce workloads for drivers, the system also would help cut carbon emissions, she said.
Advertisement
“The key concept of the auto flow-road is to create dedicated spaces within the road network for logistics, utilising a 24-hour automated and unstaffed transport system,” Endo said.