While most customers who order products online choose home delivery carried out by a van-powered courier service, a forward-thinking start-up based in the UK has revealed intentions to roll out a national infrastructure of pipes through which items can be transported at high speeds.

The pipes will feature rails and a magnetic propulsion system to make the deliveries efficient, fast and sustainable.

Another advantage of this solution is that it will mean that there are fewer delivery vehicles on the roads and thus both less traffic and lower levels of emissions.

Congestion is certainly an issue which could benefit from having online deliveries shifted to subterranean tubing, but when it comes to pollution this may not be an issue by the time the pipe system is put in place, as electric vehicles are growing in popularity at the moment.

The company, called Magway, is seeking to tap into the demand for speedy home delivery services which are being offered by companies like Amazon. Being able to get products to customers’ homes in under an hour, as is facilitated by Prime Now, for example, is challenging in many instances, but the pipe-oriented approach may be the perfect answer in the future.

There will of course be significant costs and complications associated with installing underground pipes with this cutting-edge kit. However, Magway is optimistic about its changes and is already committed to rolling out a freight-manoeuvring system at Heathrow Airport.

Although it has achieved funding through a variety of channels, Magway is also looking into crowd-sourcing support from a large pool of investors in order to get closer to realising its ambitions. This may seem outlandish on paper, but it could serve the needs of the UK as online shopping becomes ubiquitous.