Non-stop high-speed train concept excites and terrifies in equal measure
Here's a terrifying new concept: a high-speed train that never stops. Passengers instead cross over via a 'feeder tram' that matches the speed of the main train. Scary? You betcha.
- Shortlisted for British Photography Awards 2022, Commended in Landscape Photographer of the Year 2022
If you like trains, love going fast, and have an all-consuming fear of stopping, you'll be crying with joy if a concept for a continually running high-speed train comes to life.
We love trains here at Crave Towers: they're long, thin and have a buffet. What's not to like? Sure, they have delays every so often, but that just gives us more time to Tweet at the station. We don't have super high-speed trains in the UK -- quite the opposite -- but that doesn't stop us being excited about this new concept.
You don't have to be a physicist to know that the more often a train slows down and stops, the longer the total journey is going to be. Paul Priestman (not a physicist) of UK-based design firm Priestmangoode has thought up the glorious idea of a high-speed train that never stops running. Instead, passengers board the train via 'feeder trams' that do all that laborious stopping and starting.
Passengers will board these smaller trams which will catch up to and match the speed of the main train, allowing passengers to cross between the two -- we assume by some sort of connected tunnel, not by jumping. They will disembark in the same manner, presumably while muttering a prayer of protection.
The advantage of such a system doesn't seem to be based on green, efficient thinking -- having an extra train to feed the first train doesn't seem the most planet-friendly idea, especially considering the extra infrastructure that would be required. The idea instead focuses on the dramatically decreased journey times. Perhaps they will balance out.
There are obviously a lot of issues to work out before a project like this ever went into use -- what happens when the inevitable doddery old lady doesn't make it between the feeder tram and main train before they detach? -- but the idea of zooming at high speed non-stop over countries does sound like a lot of fun, so expect to see the intrepid CNET UK team at the maiden voyage.
What do you think to this idea? Would you be comfortable crossing between two trains at high speed? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or over on our official Facebook page.