Imagine: you get into a car, drive into an ordinary elevator, descend 30 meters underground, and speed at 200 km/h, while thousands of cars are stuck in traffic above. This is not science fiction, but the reality of the next decade. Underground transportation is not just the metro. In 2026, humanity is actively building tunnels for passenger cars, trucks, and even pedestrians. Traffic jams in megacities force people to look for space underground. We tell you how underground logistics will change our cities.

From the Metro to Multimodal Tunnels

The metro is classic. But it solves only the problem of passenger transportation. Goods, personal cars, food delivery — all this is still on the surface. The first step into the future is the creation of "smart" tunnels where different types of transport travel at different times of the day. For example, in the morning — passenger cars, during the day — trucks, at night — autonomous taxis. Everything is managed by artificial intelligence. There is already an experimental section under the Thames in London for cargo drones on wheels.

The Boring Company: Loop and Radical Cost Reduction

The company proposed by Elon Musk to build tunnels with a small diameter (3.6 meters) instead of metro-wide (6 meters). This sharply reduces the cost. In Las Vegas, Loop — a network of tunnels — carries passengers in Tesla electric cars at a speed of 150 km/h. Currently with a driver, but autonomous driving is planned. Musk is also developing a system of bricks made from excavated material (sells them cheaply to cover the cost of boring). In 2026, Loop will be built in Miami, Los Angeles, and Austin. There are no similar projects in Russia, but Moscow authorities are looking at them.

Hyperloop: The Future of Vacuum Trains

If Loop is just cars in tunnels, then Hyperloop is capsules flying almost without friction. The air is pumped out, a magnetic cushion. Speed — 1000-1200 km/h. The first commercial Hyperloop route is planned in India (Mumbai-Pune) by 2028. The project is lagging in Europe due to bureaucracy. Problems: maintaining a vacuum is difficult, any leak in the seal is a disaster. Nevertheless, in 2026, a 2-km test tube was built in the Netherlands for passenger capsule certification.

Underground Drone Hubs

Drone delivery services need bases where they change batteries, load goods. Such stations are going underground — to not spoil the city landscape. In Shanghai, a underground hub for 500 drones was launched in 2025. They land on elevators, descend into the tunnel, load packages onto robotic trolleys. In the future, such hubs will be connected by tunnels, forming an underground logistics network. You order a pizza, the drone picks it up from the restaurant, travels underground, and pops up at your doorstep. In 2026, a similar system is being tested in Dubai.

Underground Parking and Its Evolution

There is no place to park a car — we build underground parking lots. But the future is for automatic parking robots. You leave your car on the surface, the elevator takes it down, the robot shuttle parks it in a cell. You don't need to circle the floors. Systems like these are already working in Tokyo and Singapore. In 2026, the first fully automated underground parking lot in the "Moscow-City" area was opened in Moscow. The next step is integration with tunnels: you drive onto an elevator, and the robot takes your car to your office underground.

Building the Tunnels of the Future: Lasers and Robots

Currently, tunnels are bored with giant shields (TPMK). This is expensive and slow. The future is for laser cutting of rock and robotic laying of segments. The Canadian startup Petra is developing a laser that melts rock, which solidifies into a glass-like lining of the tunnel. Without noise, without waste. Boring speed — up to 100 meters per day (10 times faster than usual). Commercial use is expected by 2030. Another trend is 3D printing of tunnels with concrete directly in the ground.

Ecology of Underground Transportation

On the one hand, tunnels save the surface from noise and exhausts. On the other hand, they disrupt hydrology (groundwater), require huge energy costs for lighting and ventilation. If the transport inside is electric cars, there are no emissions. But ventilation is still needed — the air heats up from the engines (even electric motors heat up). In future tunnels, heat recovery systems will be used: heated air will heat homes above the tunnel. This is already being implemented in the Loop project in Las Vegas.

What Will Be in Russia

In Moscow, the metro density is high, but there are not enough car tunnels. The "Light Metro" project (underground trams) is being discussed, but not built. There are no private initiatives like Boring Company due to bureaucracy and cost. However, in 2026, tunneling began under the MKAD for trucks (length 5 km) to relieve the outer side of the ring. In St. Petersburg, the construction of an underground duplicate of Nevsky Prospect for cars is being considered. But we are far from Loop.

Underground transportation is inevitable. Cities are suffocating on the surface. They have to either go underground or sink into smog. China, the United States, and the UAE have already chosen the path underground. Perhaps in 20 years, we will be surprised that cars used to drive on asphalt, not on vacuum tubes underground.

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