How parcels could be piped to your door at 40mph

GOODS bought online could be transported across the country through underground pipes using magnetic propulsion.

The network would run under the embankment next to the hard shoulder of motorways and give retailers a quick and cheap alternative to road transport.

The idea is similar to the hyperloop passenger transport technology being developed by designer Elon Musk but the pipes would only be 90cm (35in) in diameter.

Parcels and groceries would be moved on carriages along a magnetic track, propelling them forward at just under 40mph when activated by an electric charge.

The project is being developed by designers at Magway Ltd with online supermarket Ocado, the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, Space Syntax and Force Engineering.

The team is working on a trial and the project is supported by a £650,000 grant from Innovate UK, a government technology funding agency. It hopes to run the first pipeline along a 56-mile route from Milton Keynes, where Ocado is based, to Park Royal in London. It is claimed it could be operating within three years.

Magway’s co-founder Phill Davies said: ‘This is a game changer for e-commerce and logistics. By keeping them close together, we can move up to 12million of these carriages every week.’