Taking Efficiency To Its Limits: A Train That Doesn't Stop For Passengers

The Train That Never StopsThe above video (note: it's in Taiwanese), demonstrates a rather interesting concept by Taiwanese inventor Peng Yu-Lun for a train that never stops. He correctly points out that trains would be far more efficient (and on-time) if they didn't have to go through the trouble of, you know, stopping to pick up passengers, Unfortunately, at present not stopping for passengers would mean, well, no passengers. Yu-Lun's design solves that problem with a kind of "top-mounted boarding shuttle that is scooped up when the train passes one station and automatically deposited when it reaches the next stop." See the video to get a better sense of how it would work. An interesting concept, though one wonders about its practicality.

Via: ::BoingBoingMore on TrainsJapan: Producing Electricity from Train Station Ticket GatesTrain Travel Hits New HighsFuel Cell Powered Trains on the Rails In JapanItalian Trains Get Solar BoostDual Mode Trains in JapanBiogas-Powered Train in SwedenAmtrak: Still in the Red, But There's Green At the End of the TunnelObama Appeals to Crucial Train Swing Vote