Why do railways have to run on rails?
Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 6:29 pm
Just a random thought while reading this post, but if I had replied it would have risked derailing (ho ho) the thread, so I'll anticipate the split here.
Why do we run actual trains --- huge, heavy locomotives or motor units or coaches, typically filled at 20% or less of capacity --- on smaller branch lines? Electrification costs a fortune and diesel is clunky and produces shitloads of CO2 and particulates.
Why don't we tear up the rails, tarmac over them, and provide an electric bus service? It would cost vastly less to maintain and run (the buses could even become driverless in the next few years if they had exclusive use of the paths/tracks), and we could use the money saved to expand rail technology into the 2-hour journey sweet spot for 400-600km journeys between major cities.
I presume that many people who understand transport systems better than me (i.e., almost everybody) have thought about this, so I'd be interested to know what the problems are perceived to be.
Why do we run actual trains --- huge, heavy locomotives or motor units or coaches, typically filled at 20% or less of capacity --- on smaller branch lines? Electrification costs a fortune and diesel is clunky and produces shitloads of CO2 and particulates.
Why don't we tear up the rails, tarmac over them, and provide an electric bus service? It would cost vastly less to maintain and run (the buses could even become driverless in the next few years if they had exclusive use of the paths/tracks), and we could use the money saved to expand rail technology into the 2-hour journey sweet spot for 400-600km journeys between major cities.
I presume that many people who understand transport systems better than me (i.e., almost everybody) have thought about this, so I'd be interested to know what the problems are perceived to be.