Most cities have urgent needs to solve their transport problems. Especially the urban transport of goods is expensive, polluting and inefficient. Though, most authorities and citizens agree that electrification is the solution. Yet, most of these cities provides such electric infrastructure, but have simply prevented such utilization for decades. The obvious and instant solution is to ‘rule by law’ and not to prevent any freight transport on their subways anymore. Hence this blog elaborates on the subway freight in order to solve some urgent Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.
Related issues have been talked through in blogs like; ‘Infrastructures’ (UU20211002), ‘Megacities’ (UU20220710), ‘Citizens of Cities’ UU20220703 and ‘Gaiapolis’ (UU20220807). The theme also relates specially the Sustainable Development Goals; SDG-7, Clean Energy; SDG-9, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; SDG-11, Cities and Communities; SDG-16, Institutions and Justice; and SDG-17, Public/Private partnerships.
The issues of suburban freight is highly related to the technologies of this 4th Industrial Reform. TaaS and MaaS means Transport and Movement ‘as a Service’. Hence, the transport of products should be made as efficient as movement of people. The MaaS enables the citizens to plan a route with their mobile app the involves multiple schedules and vehicles. Citizens are even allowed to bring some smaller products like packages. All-in-all, people or products, - it is simply about free movement from A to B. Transport of goods in these well-developed collective subway infrastructures do not exist, but are rather forced to the streets – polluting and overcrowding.
Freight trains on subway rails do indeed requires some modifications of the infrastructure. Still, most is already in place. Freight subways should not be mixed by passengers though, - just like there is clearly separations between passenger- and freight-trains. There should be sidetracks, separate stations and related facilities for re-loading, storage, handling, etc. Moreover, subway-lines that are combined with surface tracks, stations and connections are the most suitable for subway freight. There can be suburban interconnecting stations for reloading goods from trailers, trains ships and even planes, - the so-called Marshalling Yards.
The wagons for products are certainly different from those for people, - although using the same tracks. These days, most barriers are overcome for the unstandardized rail-dimensions, energy for the engines and traffic regulations. Flexible railway bogeys can be suited for any kind of rails, container or wagons. Bogeys can even come with electric engines and highly advanced electronics, - which practically solves any TaaS challenges for suburban freights that are interconnected with other trams-, trains- and metro-systems.
The negative freight products, like all sorts of garbage, can as easily be transported out of the cities. The amount of garbage in cities is critical due to expensive, polluting and inefficient handling and transport. The very same subway freight trains, stations and facilities can most certainly be reused for the return of the garbage out of the cities. These freights of negative products should be transported directly to suburban recycling sites, and thereby efficiently recycled for a positive circular economy.
The barriers to realize the suburban freight is basically due to politicalized corruption. There are just minor and manageable barriers to the development and implementation of the concept of freight transport on urban electric transport networks. It can be realized within 2030 with minimal investment and true political goodwill. This problem and solutions are talked through in the blog UU20210605 ‘Public Market Failures’. In brief, legally, any qualified actor is allowed to utilize public infrastructures, - just like for pavements, roads, seaways and airways. There are no legal barriers to let non-public freighters utilize, and even modify, the existing electric transport infrastructure to realize the SDGs for 2030.
A proposal for concept development of freight transport is to:
- Make legal clarification about the right of use of infrastructure for subways.
- Test a simple freight transport in wagons from A to B.
- Strategically select stations as A2B destinations.
- Promote electric 'boogey' carriages as (EV), preferably Internet of Things (IoT).
- Map the need for waste freight traffic out of cities via subways.
- Optionally plan siding, platform, warehouse and reloading, - i.e., Marshalling Yards.
- Modifying existing TaaS applications similar to the Itinerary for freight logistics.
- Map the most favorable time periods for freight traffic, when passenger transport is low.
- Find willing freight forwarders for the project by promoting SDG17 Partnership for the Goals.
First movers will get the advantage to export their concepts to other metropolises in other cities - worldwide.
Links:
https://itsworldcongress.com/
https://www.eib.org/en/projects/sectors/transport/rail.htm
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2019/635528/EPRS_BRI(2019)635528_EN.pdf
https://www.trackopedia.com/en/encyclopedia/railway-vehicles/types-of-bogies
https://moveparallel.com/
UN Sustainable Development Goals:
https://sdgs.un.org/goals
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal7
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal9
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal11
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal16
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal17
See all UU blogs at: http://bloguu.azurewebsites.net/
Music:
Subway Dreams by Dan Henig Instrumental
https://www.youtube.com/embed/C6OuMA38XdI
“Freight trains on subway rails do indeed requires some modifications of the infrastructure. Still, most is already in place. Freight subways should not be mixed by passengers though, - just like there is clearly separations between passenger- and freight-trains. There should be sidetracks, separate stations and related facilities for re-loading, storage, handling, etc. - the so-called Marshalling Yards. Moreover, subway-lines that are combined with surface tracks, stations and connections are the most suitable for subway freight. There can be suburban interconnecting stations for reloading goods from trailers, trains, ships and even planes.”
My Top 10 Metro Systems of the World https://www.youtube.com/embed/0X69dUt16BI
What is the future of urban logistics?
https://www.youtube.com/embed/oGgDelr8uls
Tokyo Has Built The World's Best Subway
https://www.youtube.com/embed/FFpG3yf3Rxk
Why Europe Is Insanely Well Designed
https://www.youtube.com/embed/0u4f52w4qgQ
The Heart of Railway Transport: Marshalling Yards
https://www.youtube.com/embed/iKxpqVNjOR0
Parallel Systems Explainer Video 1
https://www.youtube.com/embed/z5IUUx1t-ms
The Fascinating Engineering behind Electric Trains!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/GJbUI2D3rLY
(Subway simulator) About Cargo, Trains & Traffic
https://www.youtube.com/embed/VfyV_U2uF7U
Fixing Mad City Traffic with Metro & Skills!! - Cities: Skylines
https://www.youtube.com/embed/YnWq2VplJRc