Japan’s ‘conveyor belt road’ to relieve driver shortage and cut emissions | South China Morning Post

Nov 02, 2024

Connecting Tokyo and Osaka, developers are aiming for full operations of the three-lane automated cargo transport corridor by the mid-2030s

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.

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.

“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.