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Get on & off the bullet train without the train stopping

M II A II R II K

M II A II R II K

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The train that never stops at a station


April 13, 2010

http://softhunder.blogspot.com/2010/04/train-that-never-stops-at-station.html

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No time is wasted. The bullet train is moving all the time. If there are 30 stations between Beijing and Guangzhou , just stopping and accelerating again at each station will waste both energy and time.

A mere 5 min stop per station (elderly passengers cannot be hurried) will result in a total loss of 5 min x 30 stations or 2.5 hours of train journey time!

1. For those who are boarding the train : The passengers at a station embarks onto to a connector cabin way before the train even arrives at the station. When the train arrives, it will not stop at all. It just slows down to pick up the connector cabin which will move with the train on the roof of the train.

While the train is still moving away from the station, those passengers will board the train from the connector cabin mounted on the train's roof. After fully unloading all its passengers, the cabin connector cabin will be moved to the back of the train so that the next batch of outgoing passengers who want to alight at the next station will board the connector cabin at the rear of the train roof.

2. For those who are getting off: As stated after fully unloading all its passengers, the cabin connector cabin will be moved to the back of the train so that the next batch of outgoing passengers who want to alight at the next station will board the connector cabin at the rear of the train roof. When the train arrives at the next station, it will simply drop the whole connector cabin at the station itself and leave it behind at the station. The outgoing passengers can take their own time to disembark at the station while the train had already left. At the same time, the train will pick up the incoming embarking passengers on another connector cabin in the front part of the train's roof. So the train will always drop one connector cabin at the rear of its roof and pick up a new connector cabin in the front part of the train's roof at each station.

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How it works (View the movie - in Mandarin though!):




[video=youtube;p9Ig19gYP9o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9Ig19gYP9o[/video]
 
An interesting idea, but given that it's about a 2,200 km route, will the demand for rail transport over air travel, create enough demand to pay for this?
 
that is China for you, if they are not aggressively pursuing new technology that no one is willing to give a try, they are super-sizing and super-charging on existing tried and true methods, if they are not doing ether of these things; they are innovating in new technology, new ways to get approach something.
 
kettal said:
Ok, but how does the train's engine connect to the overhead wire?
Click to expand...

Lowering the pantograph while coasting through the station? Obviously a train could not switch cabs at full speed.

Personally I would prefer an ejection seat, you could get off wherever you want.
 
reaperexpress said:
I would love to ride on that thing! Accelerating from 0 to 320km/h in the length of a train, that would be insane! That would be such a rush that we could market it as a rollercoaster.
Click to expand...
I'd assume that the train might dip down to a slower speed like 120 or 160 near stations.

While it's a cool idea, I wonder how much bang for your buck you actually get. I'd think it's better to just run a bunch of different types of express trains.
 
This system would also only warrant a small number of customers boarding at each station. The loading car is about 1/10 of the size of the entire train, and about 1/4 the height. There's a tight fit for you.
 
A better solution:

Have the last car or two act as a 'platform', without seats (just grab rails, etc.). Passengers who will debark the train gather there before their stop. A few kilometers before the station, these cars detach from the train and decelerate toward the station on a side track. Meanwhile, on the same sidetrack, the boarding passengers are in an identical set of rear-cars that accelerates as the train is approaching, timed so that these cars merge onto the main tracks at a similar speed just after the train passes, where it can accelerate slightly and couple with the train. These passengers then move forward to other cars, making room for those debarking at the next station.

Thus no need to disconnect the pantograph, and no protrusion above the train on a separate set of tracks to raise the drag. Also, no stairs, etc.

I could see the advantage in this, as it allows many more stations to be served by a milk run train without making longer trips intolerable. Given China's density, this will probably be preferable to aircraft. Just imagine how congested the skies over China will be without copious amounts of HSR!
 
The whole dropping the last car thing could help at high-speed US border crossings at Niagara or Detroit, assuming that customs are done before boarding of course.
 
Imagine the stress of people who can't move fast enough. They could have a countdown clock till your impending death.
 
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