Railway transport of the future.

The rapid growth of innovative technologies in recent decades has not spared rail transport. Thanks to them, modern trains have become faster, more reliable and more efficient in carrying out their direct destination. Fast delivery of goods and passengers to their destinations is combined with the ecological cleanliness of modern trains.

All these advantages make us optimistic about the future of this type of transport. Moreover, new technologies and technical devices are emerging that bring this future closer. Here are a few technological innovations that are the future of railway transport development.

1. Solar rails

The use of solar panels has already moved from purely domestic use for heating housing to the transport sector. They were the first to be used by automobile companies producing electric vehicles that fix solar panels on the roofs of cars.

In 2017, Australians followed the same path by placing solar energy accumulators on the train. Such a train already runs in the Australian Byron Bay.

It is not difficult to imagine that in the near future the use of solar energy in railway transport will become widely used. But there are also alternative sources that can be used as driving energy, for example, hydrogen energy.

2. Hydrogen trains

The very principle of obtaining energy by splitting hydrogen is not new, but until now there has been no technologically proven mechanism for this process. A pair of anode, cathode and electrolytic membrane make up the fuel cell, which splits hydrogen into electrons and protons. Walking through the circuit, the electrons generate electricity, which is either accumulated in lithium batteries, or goes directly to the electric motor.

The only drawback of this technology is that hydrogen reacts with oxygen, resulting in the formation of water. But work is underway to eliminate this shortcoming.

The technology has already been applied in Germany, where the first Coradia iLint passenger train appeared, where hydrogen is the fuel. This train is practically silent, and only steam and water are emissions from it.

3. Autonomous rails

Autonomous train technology has been used in many countries of the world for more than one year. But it continues to be advertised as the future of railways. The reason for this is simple: the system itself is constantly progressing in technical terms and is being used on increasingly long routes, and in addition, the automation of transportation is constantly being optimized. Currently, these technologies are successfully used in the subway and other types of public transport, when the optimal traffic schedule is being developed taking into account peak loads.

4. Superfast Maglev trains

The fastest train in the world is the Maglev (magnetic levitation) in Shanghai, which operates on the principle of a magnetic cushion. He overcomes a distance of 12 km in 7 minutes, developing a speed of more than 166 km / h. By 2027, it is planned to open a new Chuo Shinkansen line in Japan between Tokyo and Nagoya, where the train should reach speeds of up to 195 km/h, and the entire journey will take only 40 minutes.

5. Intelligent sensors for automatic path checking

But not only the trains themselves are constantly being improved. The huge amount of information that is associated with rail transportation requires the introduction of new systems for processing this information flow.

Siemens and Thales have started the development and implementation of sensors that are directly related to ensuring traffic safety on railways. These sensors must provide real-time data, for example, about railway track breaks using a GPS positioning system.

6. Drones are an additional measure to ensure safe passenger transportation

Such unmanned devices are supposed to be used to improve transportation safety. Using automated sensing systems, these devices can be used to check the tracks in front of a moving train, identify possible obstacles on the way and monitor the movement of the train in autonomous mode.

7. Startram: train in ... space?

This idea is still a rather distant future, although the very prospect of combining railway and space technologies does not look like something fantastic and its development began back in 2001.

The Startram (space tram) concept being developed involves launching spacecraft into near-Earth orbit using the Maglev rail principle, which should save the space industry from fuel problems and significantly reduce the cost of putting cargo into orbit.

This is an illustrative example of how technologies already used in railway transport are trying to be used in other branches of human activity.

8. Use of space technology

But the reverse penetration of technology is quite real. Thus, according to the statement of the European Space Agency, the sensor safety technology used during the spacecraft's return to Earth can also be successfully used on railway transport.

In addition, the use of satellite technologies will ensure a stable Internet connection in high-speed trains.

9. Hybrid train-plane

The main problem of modern air transport is that by 2030, with the current growth rates of air traffic, the global airport system will be critically overloaded. Therefore, AKKA Technologies has already started developing a multimodal aircraft project with the name "Link & Fly".

This hybrid of an airplane and a train is not completely tied to the airport, and the loading of the capsule car can take place in any place accessible to rail transport. Capsules can be passenger and cargo. The first versions of this project have already begun to be implemented, and Boeing and a number of Asian investors are ready to invest in the project.

The modular system of the future transport will give impetus to further technological progress of the railway industry, which is becoming more environmentally friendly and attractive for passengers.