Madrid is leveraging public transport as a new delivery solution to help cut pollution

(File) Commuters wait for the metro in Madrid. Image: Gabriel Bouys / AFP

In Madrid, the metro will now be used to carry parcels as part of a pilot project aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and congestion in the city. This original initiative comes at a time when the French city of Strasbourg is testing using its trams to carry parcel post.

Whether it's drones or autonomous robots, we often think of cutting-edge technologies when it comes to finding new solutions to make deliveries more environmentally-friendly. However, recent initiatives show that it may not be necessary to develop such vehicles, as suitable systems are already in place—in this case, public transport networks.

Madrid's local authorities have unveiled a plan as ambitious as it is original, centered around the Spanish capital's subway network. Reported by the trade media Railway Supply, this pilot project has an environmental objective: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and road traffic. For three months, a line in the southern part of the network will have an extra train—a very special train, since it will not stop at every station, and above all, it won't carry any passengers. Indeed, this special delivery train will only serve a few stations during a specific time slot—from 7 pm to 8 pm —considered an off-peak hour in Madrid. An estimated 700 parcels will be transported in this way each day.

For the moment, the project concerns Line 12, managed by the MetroSur company, but a second phase will be implemented at the end of the year with the integration of Line 3. For last mile delivery, bicycles and carts will be used to take parcels to their final destination.

Elsewhere in Europe, Strasbourg is the first French city to try something similar, using the city's trams. The city has unveiled the broad outlines of a trial that will run until October 26. The network will be used to carry parcel post from the Schiltigheim postal sorting center, which handles between 8,000 and 9,000 such items daily. Each tram-based dispatch will carry around 100 parcels.