Why battery power why? Rails already have 3rd rail or overhead power. What kind of scam are they running?
I want to know what investment company would give these people a penny.
TheIronArmenianakaGIHaigs
I love the "it'll be quieter" argument. Because if anything is quieter than one long train, it's a hundred short trains of equal capacities starting and braking all the time. 🤦♂️
TheNefastor
Imagine the flight industry's version of this. One small helicopter for each passenger at a time. Perfect. No airports. No check-in lines.
ss_avsmt
Imagine waiting at a rail road stop and see a sea of never ending separate cars crossing your path for hours
terrancegriffin
Imagine the shipping industry's version of this. One small boat to carry one container at a time
bcp
“Trains are up to 4 times more efficient than trucking”
“Our solution to this is to make trains less efficient than trucking”
ryan
I like how they think that the reason that big trains need big loading/unloading stations is because the trains are long, not because the cargo throughput is high.
Thundawich
Also, US freight trains are so big they do not need to be particularly aerodynamic, as their frontal cross section is pretty small relative to their mass so aerodynamic drag is not a big factor. if you shrink it down to each container aerodynamic drag is going to be a much larger factor.
tylerjohn
It's almost like the locomotive is the part which makes trains so efficient.
This concept just combines the disadvantages of trucks with the ones trains have.
eier
These companies be like: “Ok, so it’s like a train, but less efficient and far more costly, but get this: _polygons”_
hippotripo
I think this is good. Techbros are evolving: first hyperloop, then this piece of crap. They will eventually catch up to the present and learn that modern trains without Tesla batteries are the answer.
Ruinemacil
So instead of having a handful of engines that can be rigorously maintained, there will be thousands of powered skates and the failure of any one bringing entire lines to a halt. Brilliant.
kcgunesq
This system basically combines the problems of freight rail and electric trucks without solving any problems
connected-urbanplanningcon
Q: What is the most crucial thing that makes trains efficient?
A: The ability to couple hundreds of cars and haul them or rails over long distances with minimal energy losses and cost.
Q: What if we took this essential part away and claim it a benefit?
A: ...
erikziak
The solution, hear me out, is highly trained carrier pigeons tied to strings. With merely 30, 000 pigeons you can carry a shipping container at least 20 feet to load it onto a train. After the pigeons have loaded each container, their union demands a 15 minute lunch break before tying them to the front of the train and pulling it to its destination where, you guessed it, 700 sled dogs will take over.
You're welcome.
Zii_Vii
You're the Gordon Ramsay of urban planning
CesarSanchez-hzjx
I don’t understand why they would think their system would be more efficient
floris
The trains pulling cargo miles long is part of why they're so efficient lmao
specialagentdustyponcho
"just build trains instead"
-Adam Something, every video.
pipersolanas
Here's a complication I see; Railroads operate mostly independently from roads, however, they do intersect with each other. Having a hundred or so cars moving independently, instead of one hundred-car train, would mean traffic would be stopped at crossings a hundred times instead of just once. So I can see this creating more traffic congestion, not reducing it.
