Delays and cancellations of trains are the biggest annoyance for every passenger.
But these relentless delays would certainly be minimized if there was a locomotive that never needed to stop to refuel or recharge because it had a constant source of power.
And that’s exactly what scientists are developing with a £38 million ($50 million) budget.
Their mission is to create the world’s first “Infinity Train” powered by gravity, which will then be deployed on the rail network later this decade.
It will run on an electric battery that won’t need to be recharged with a conventional charging infrastructure because it will instead use gravitational energy on the descents of the track.
Braking friction to slow the train will regenerate electricity and theoretically means the locomotive will be able to carry materials and one day people without stopping.
This echoes the 2013 post-apocalyptic sci-fi film Snowpiercer, where the Earth is frozen solid and a train of survivors must remain in perpetual motion circling the globe.
The world’s first “endless train” that will use gravity to recharge its electric battery is being developed by scientists (file image)
The idea echoes the 2013 post-apocalyptic sci-fi film Snowpiercer (pictured), where the Earth is frozen over and the survivor train must remain in perpetual motion.
HOW WILL THE INFINITE TRAIN WORK?
1. The train is powered by an electric battery
2. It is recharged by gravitational energy generated on the slopes of the railway network.
3. Braking friction to slow down the train regenerates electricity.
4. This is how hybrid electric vehicles work.
5. This eliminates the need for recharging infrastructure and will eliminate diesel fuel.
The Australian engineering company behind the plan, Fortescue Future Industries, said it would also eliminate the need for diesel engines for any trains.
It works in the same way as hybrid electric vehicles.
The firm announced the train after acquiring British battery company Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE), which was born from Williams F1 in 2010.
Together, the two companies will work to accelerate the transition to green energy and help the industry reduce carbon emissions to zero by the end of the decade.
“The Infinity Train will join the Fortescue green fleet under development and will help establish Fortescue as a major player in the growing global market for environmentally friendly industrial transportation equipment, which will greatly benefit our shareholders,” said Dr. Andrew Forrest, Founder and Fortescue Chairman.
“Push business leaders and policy makers around the world to realize that fossil fuels are just one source of energy, and others are rapidly emerging, such as gravity energy, that are more efficient, cheaper and greener.
Fortescue said its rail operations (pictured) currently include 54 locomotives carrying 16 train sets, as well as other mobile equipment on the track.
Each train is about 1.7 miles (2.8 km) long and can carry 34,404 tons of iron ore in 244 wagons.
What is gravity?
Scientists understand that there are four fundamental forces acting on all things in the universe:
Gravity is an attractive force that acts on all things, but pulls larger objects more strongly.
The force is so weak that huge celestial objects are required for a significant impact.
For example, gravity on Earth is just enough to keep people on the ground.
While it is clear how it works, how it works remains a mystery.
Scientists have long speculated about the existence of a fundamental particle called the “graviton” that is responsible for the interaction.
Despite its theoretical logic, the particle has not yet been discovered.
On Earth, gravity is measured at 9.8 m/s^2.
For reference, the force on Jupiter is 24.8 m/s^2 and on the Moon it is 1.6 m/s^2.
This means that a person weighing 10 stone (140 pounds) on Earth would only weigh 22 pounds on the Moon, but would weigh 331 pounds on Jupiter.
“The world must and clearly can move on from a highly polluting, deadly, if not halted, era of fossil fuels.”
He said Infinity Train should help Fortescue accelerate the race to zero emissions by 2030, as well as reduce operating costs and create more efficient service capabilities.
Fortescue said its rail operations include 54 locomotives pulling 16 train sets, as well as other mobile equipment on the track.
Each train is about 1.7 miles (2.8 km) long and can carry 34,404 tons of iron ore in 244 wagons.
The system currently relies on diesel engines, which consume 82 million liters of fuel annually.
The company hopes to drastically reduce this usage and eventually phase it out entirely over the next few years with the Infinity Train.
“Infinity Train has the potential to be the world’s most efficient battery electric locomotive,” said Fortescue CEO Elizabeth Gaines.
“Energy recovery at downslope loaded sites will eliminate the need to install infrastructure for renewable power generation and recharging, making it a cost effective solution to eliminate diesel and emissions from our rail operations.”
But even if engineers manage to use the technology to build the Infinity Train, it could take months or even years for other railroads to implement it.
Not only that, it won’t stop train delays due to weather or line failures, unlike new technology that is being tested.
Dry ice will be covered by railway tracks in northern England as part of an initiative to reduce delays caused by leaves on the track.
A leaf cleaner developed by British engineers could be deployed across the UK by 2024.
It was developed by experts at the University of Sheffield and is currently being tested by Northern on a passenger train.
Like icy roads, leaves create a slippery layer on railroad tracks, causing trains to move at slower speeds, causing delays.
In a new method that aims to remove leaves more efficiently than existing methods, dry ice pellets are thrown into the air stream from a passenger train onto the tracks, causing the leaves to freeze and become brittle.
The dry ice then quickly turns into a gas, causing it to expand and destroy the leaves.
Le Transperceneige (Through the Snow)
In the photo: the cover of Snowpiercer Vol 1.
Both the 2013 film Snowpiercer and the recent Netflix TV reboot are based on a series of graphic novels originally published in French in 1982 as Le Transperceneige.
In all the stories, which differ in specific plots, the last survivors seek refuge on the titled “Snowpiercer”, a train constantly traveling around the world, after a climate catastrophe.
Both the comic and the movie are about the efforts of the “tail” passengers – the lower class at the back of the train – to fight their way forward to the locomotive in front.
A precariously balanced ecosystem in its own right, Snowpiercer contains a variety of environments, from an ugly tail and security section to luxurious arboretums, nightclubs, aquariums, and restaurants.
Along with an exploration of class differences, Snowpiercer can be seen as a broader analogy to the seemingly inevitable but unsustainable nature of contemporary capitalism.