Monster 310-mile automated cargo conveyor will replace 25,000 trucks
newatlas.com
The Japanese government is planning to connect major cities with automated zero-emissions logistics links that can quietly and efficiently shift millions of tons of cargo, while getting tens of thousands of trucks off the road.
  • jumperalex@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    5 months ago

    Hmmmm I’m still skeptical mind you, but hear me out …

    What if there’s benefits to be had by the traction motors being stationary, the electrical connections being fixed instead of moving contacts (read: not 3rd rail or overhead catenary), and the simplicity of containers not being all connected for easy removal from the conveyor without disrupting the movement of other containers?

    Mind you I can’t imagine how this system can operate at reasonable speeds vs cargo trains that apparently hit 100km/h in Japan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_Freight_Trains_(Japan) ) but surely my imagination isn’t good enough.

    • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      5 months ago

      I don’t think speed is the thing we need to concentrate on anymore. You could have this country spanning convayer belt essentially, and power it all with solar. Thereby reducing pollution by a HUGE amount within Japan.

      And hopefully other European countries will follow. Then we’d have to deal with the beast that is North America. Large sprawling land, both in Canada, and America. Especially America would be difficult. Canada probably has an entire unused northern half. Whereas America doesn’t really have much unused open space in the eastern half. And it’s just sooooooo big.

      I have zero faith this will ever come to America. Too much politics. Too much zoning issues. Too much distance.

      But it should work great in Japan and Europe.

  • Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    0·
    5 months ago

    Trains-but-worse

    Oh boy I love trains-but-worse, their my favorite kind of trains

    Seriously why not trains-but-good?

      • yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
        0·
        5 months ago

        Switzerland.

        Japan has outstanding high speed rail but that’s pretty much it. Local train servives are, from what I’ve heard, subpar in terms of frequency. The share of goods transported via rail is also comparatively low.

        Check out these numbers and sort by each colum, Switzerland is always near the top (for population/size adjusted values)

        https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_rail_transport_network_size#Countries_with_active_network

        • CookieOfFortune@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          5 months ago

          Your link doesn’t show Switzerland at the top except their network is completely electric.

          Having been to both countries without a car, Japan is not subpar in terms of local services. They’re very different though because they have such different size and population densities.

          • yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
            0·
            5 months ago

            Switzerland has:

            • the lowest amount of area per km of track, except for micro nations
            • a fairly low amount of population per km of track - among the top 10 if population density is considered
            • lost less than 10% of tracks since its historical peak
            • a majority nationalized rail network
            • (as you mentioned) a fully electrified network

            While I haven’t travelled in Japan by rail (or any other mode), I have been to Switzerland. From what I’ve heard, in Japan there are many smaller local stations, where an ancient train arrives a few times a day.

            Whereas in Switzerland, it seems like nearly every local station has at least one train per hour.