#vacuum train

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Hyperloop (Prototype Vacuum Train) Spoorwegmuseum (Railway Museum) Utrecht, Netherlands

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Solarpunk Transportation: Trains

Trains are a common sight for Solarpunk, and for good reason. They can efficiently and quickly move large groups of people great distances.

High-Speed Trains:

Currently, high-speed rails(bullet trains) are the fastest currently used long-distance options for trains. They use magnetic levitation so that the train hovers when it builds speed, enabling it to reach around 320 km/h (200 mph), though a new train in Japan can reach 600 km/h. For comparison, many city trains (aka LRTs or subways) commonly have an average of 35km/h, with a max speed of 100km/h.

For the future of long-distance train travel, many companies are banking in on Vacuum Tube Trains. Those are basically the same magnetic levitation of a bullet train, but with the tech of a Pneumatic tube (the tubes that were used to deliver documents and other items).

The idea for using it for a train was invented in 1799 by George Medhurst in London, though they were never built.

Image 1: Croydon Museum, Atmospheric Railway Pipe, 1845. Image 2.

From then on, again and again people have "invented" the idea, but perhaps due to production costs, they never came-to-be apart from in futuristic fiction. The basic idea of it is even a mode of transportation in The Jetsons cartoon(minus the train).

Image 1: Robert Goddard's design(1910). Image 2:  1974 concept art.

Despite this idea being thought of as "technology of the future" for over 200 years, usable versions are only just now being built.

Now, many companies are competing to create a vacuum tube train (also called a Vactrain), due to the fact that they would be twice as fast as a commercial jet. In theory. As of right now, there is doubt on if they will work, and also if it’s even worth trying when they are so expensive.

If someone does get one built, it is unlikely people would use these trains for anything other than long-distance travel (due to the time it takes to build and decrease speeds).

In the meantime, high-speed trains will likely have bullet trains more common.

Other Trains:

For in the city, electric trains are starting to appear.

Personally, I would adore trains with a more classic aesthetic(blended with the necessary shape needed for aerodynamics), but I understand that most people love the sleek and clean look that comes with modern trains.