Application of underground short-haul freight pipelines to large airports

Abstract

The Dallas Fort Worth International Airport handles about 600,000 metric tons of cargo annually. These shipments are currently transported by trucks from the airport cargo terminals. An underground freight transportation (UFT) system has the potential to substantially reduce the truck traffic within the DFW Airport area and thus improve safety, efficiency, and air quality. The main reason for designing a UFT system in the DFW Airport is security vulnerability, when trucks drive under or near active runways and taxiways and may have hazardous or explosive cargo. Besides, the proposed UFT system is expected to reduce the number of trucks on airport grounds and the airport access roadways, thus enhancing both the roadway access capacity and safety as well as reducing adverse environmental impacts such as emissions and noise. The objective of this paper is to examine the feasibility of underground short-haul freight pipelines to a large airport such as Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport. The proposed short-haul UFT system transports standard air freight crates between an airport cargo terminal and a distribution center off the secured airport grounds. The DFW Airport UFT system design includes planning level configurations of the tracks, vehicle, propulsion system, end-point terminals, and loading/unloading mechanisms at those terminals. Operational attributes such as speeds, headways, loading/unloading times, and line capacities are also determined.