this post was submitted on 08 Jan 2024
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Futurology
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And since they're travelling along predetermined routes without human intervention, we could even give them their own dedicated lane that's more direct. That would free up traffic for normal people and streamline deliveries for these trucks.
And while we're at it, if they're already going on dedicated roads, why not make those roads more efficient? Rubber on asphalt damage is expensive to repair. Steel wheels on steel tracks are even more efficient and better to maintain.
And since steel tracks can handle so much more wear, we could actually make the trucks super duper overpowered and have them tow like 100 boxes at a time instead of just one or two.
And since steel tracks are conductive, we could actually electrify those rails to power the super duper overpowered track truck so it doesn't have to stop to refill for gas. Now we're combatting climate change at the same time.
At scale, humans are a lot like cargo actually. We could have dedicated track trucks to move large amounts of people from core parts of cities to other core parts of the same or other cities. Then we could reduce car and plane usage too.
Track trucks is a bit of a dumb name though, so maybe we should call it something more relevant. There's an Old French word "trahiner" that means "to pull/draw" so maybe something like that? Trainer? Or maybe just train? I think train sounds cool.
Too bad nothing like this exists or will ever exist π
While yes, absolutely more trains, you can't build track from door to door. There will always be a need for transportation between train depots and your start/end locations.
Trains all the way, 100%
...
BUT
Thanks to "cost cutting" policies cargo trains in America are now miles long sometimes with only 1, MAYBE 2, workers. A conductor and an Engineer. But now they are cutting that to just the Conductor dong the Engineer position too. Meaning they have to exhaustively walk for miles if anything breaks down and fix it.
These mile(s) long trains also disrupt traffic and pedestrians in urban areas when these long trains need to check-in at a station (hence a stopped train). Pedestrians often try to cross in some areas where this is frequent as it blocks their path and have to risk injury/death to cross the still trains.
Children even have to go under them sometimes to get by (see Figure 4 of source). Many have been injured/killed by accidental incidents like a train jolting forward for a second.
Another issue is less diverse railway routes because these long trains cannot utilize the sidetracks to get off the main track allowing other trains to get by. This causes a lot of traffic in the train yards and decreases any gains in productivity from being longer.
The U.S. can and should do better. These railway plans were literally written by a Train Tycoon/CEO who mapped out railway routes in his living room after work. He thought he knew more than the average workers, but he later admitted out of guilt in a talk that he "has blood on his hands" because of these policies he orchestrated.
More info below for those interested with sources to back these claims up.
RAIL SAFETY: Freight Trains Are Getting Longer, and Additional Information Is Needed to Assess Their Impact
Fin.
I don't think anybody's mentioned that we actually have road infrastructure built, too. The US Eisenhower highway system is still a candidate for most expensive project in human history as of last I checked. Tearing it all up for rails would take a long time to earn itself back.
Except trucks can deliver to or pickup from your doorstep while if a train arrives at your doorstep, you're fucked.
Casually ignoring the last mile problem and transport away from train infrastructure. You aren't building a train track to a village named "Shithole" to deliver lumber to a guy building a barn.
Great idea. Now we need to address the politics of who is paying for the new infrastructure, who will be collecting taxes on it across multiple boundaries (each with their own interests), and how to time share the tracks with others. Then we need to update regulations to help mitigate disaster scenarios in cases where hazardous materials are transported and compromised.
I am not dunking on the use of trains, that should absolutely be done. Itβs just not as straight forward to implement when businesses think βthis is already here (freeway), and itβs cheaper and easier.β
They can build their own road then.