Even During the Robopocalypse, the Brits Love Their Tubes

Drones flown by Amazon aren't the only way we could be getting our parcels delivered in the near future. UK firm Mole Solutions is exploring the possibility of using small robot trains running on underground tracks to manage deliveries, and it's just received funding from the British government to help test the viability of the proposal.

The system Mole Solutions wants to put in place uses the same maglev technology adopted by Japan's super-fast Shinkansen train. In a maglev-powered system, the natural repelling forces of electromagnets are used to keep the carriage hovering slightly above the track, thus cutting down on friction and increasing speed.

There's plenty to recommend the idea: no deliveries held up by traffic congestion and no need to wait for drivers to become available before you can get your hands on the latest Blu-ray boxset. Mole Solutions says the small tunnels could be installed alongside existing transport infrastructure and create a system that ran 24 hours a day.

The steel carriages would run down concrete tubes measuring between 1.3 m (4.27 ft) and 2.4 m (7.87 ft), while the loading and unloading would also be handled automatically. Unloaded pallets would be stored in secure, temperature-controlled units at specified depots – the box wouldn't trundle straight up to your front door (at least not yet).

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