Industrial designers Priestmangoode have revealed a concept for high-speed trains called Moving Platforms. Moving Platforms is a completely inter-connected rail infrastructure where local trams connect to a network of non-stop high speed trains enabling passengers to travel from their local stop to a local address at their destination without getting off a train.
Vimeo link
(via Zoot Patrol)
3 comment(s):
The brilliant thing about this approach is not that people don't have to get off the train -- it's that the high speed train doesn't have to stop, thus saving a lot of time for long distance travels.
I've seen a more complex idea by the Chinese a while back (they used a arrangement of very small trains that were basically only used to transfer passengers to and from each station; the small trains were anchored at one stop, and carried along until the next one, where another small train was waiting; these small trains would also be used as train stations, since people would effectively wait in the small train for the proper train to pick it up).
Of course, other similar ideas might have popped up even before that. I expect there is some pressure from high-speed train carriers to resolve the issue with the time wasted in stations, so we're probably going to see some actual testing on one approach or another in the next years.
Too bad the terrorists will probably blow it up like usual
"But if the train doesn't stop in my town, our local businesses won't make any money from restaurant or hotel sales. So no, we won't be selling you any of our perfectly good land for tracks."
(This message brought to you by Corporate USA: If it doesn't make us rich, it's not worth doing.)
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