Comment on Self-balancing commuter pods ride old railway lines on demand
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 1 month ago
I’m cautiously optimistic about this, it seems like an okay idea and the fact that they have vehicles working on a test track IRL means it’s at least not an obvious scam like hyperloop.
Also the fact that they have a specific use case in mind, don’t say it’s going to revolutionize all transportation, and are reusing existing infrastructure, all bode well.
BirdyBoogleBop@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
The crane is thr part I don’t get. Is it a stationary crane? Is that not more work than just putting a track switch in place instead?
MrFloppy@feddit.de 1 month ago
It’s only for the alpha-test vehicles. The crane does not touch the rails, it’s a security issue for testing e.g. min power gyro
Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 1 month ago
The problem is that the wheels have flanges on both sides, so I don’t think switches work.
The best solution would be a loop connecting the rails at each end, but that’s obviously not compatible with running regular freight trains since it would need to be switchless.
Thus presumably they need to be externally flipped around and moved, for which I’d guess a crane like those used for moving containers on and off trains is ideal.
With a crane they could also easily move the vehicles to a storage area so freight trains can pass through.