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 a reality within the next decade. Underground transportation is not just the subway. By 2026, humanity is actively building tunnels for passenger cars, trucks, and even pedestrians. Traffic jams in megacities are forcing people to look for space below. We tell you how underground logistics will change our cities.

From Subways to Multimodal Tunnels

The subway is classic. But it only solves 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 transportation travel at different times of the day. For example, in the morning — cars, during the day — trucks, at night — driverless taxis. Artificial intelligence manages everything. There is already an experimental section under the Thames in London for cargo drones on wheels.

The Boring Company: Loop and radical cost reduction

Elon Musk's company has proposed building tunnels of small diameter (3.6 meters) instead of wide subway tunnels (6 meters). This sharply reduces costs. Loop, a network of tunnels in Las Vegas, 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 soil (sells them cheaply to recoup drilling costs). By 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 evacuated, a magnetic cushion. Speed — 1000–1200 km/h. The first commercial Hyperloop route is planned in India (Mumbai-Pune) by 2028. In Europe, the project is lagging behind due to bureaucracy. Challenges: maintaining a vacuum is difficult, any breach in sealing is a disaster. Nevertheless, in 2026, a test tube 2 km long was built in the Netherlands for certification of passenger capsules.

Underground hubs for drones

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

Underground parking lots and their evolution

There is no place to park a car — we build underground parking lots. But the future is for automated parking robots. You leave your car on the surface, an elevator takes it down, and a 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 was opened in the "Moscow-City" area in Moscow. The next step is integration with tunnels: you drive onto an elevator, and a robot takes your car to your office underground.

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

What will be in Russia

In Moscow, the subway density is high, but there is a lack of automotive tunnels. The "Light Metro" project (underground trams) is being discussed, but not built. There are no private initiatives like the Boring Company due to bureaucracy and cost. However, in 2026, tunneling began under the MKAD for trucks (5 km long) 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 down or sink into smog. China, the US, and the UAE have already chosen the path downward. Perhaps in 20 years, we will be surprised that cars once drove on asphalt, not on vacuum tubes underground.

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