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Isn't rail inherently more energy efficient due to the rigid wheels even without the economies of multipassenger vehicles?
by moultano 10y ago
Isn't rail inherently more energy efficient due to the rigid wheels even without the economies of multipassenger vehicles?
- wcummings 10y agoMore space efficient.
- geezerjay 10y agoRail is efficient due to the low slopes that are required by the steel-on-steel friction, required to accelerate/brake through the wheel/rail interaction. And yes, the only mode of transportation that is cheaper than rail with regards to cost per tonnage is sea transport. In passanger transportation, it really depends on the distances and on the speed of transportation. People tend to pay a premium for point-to-point speed, and although airway transportation is unbeatable in that regard the time to get to the nearest airport and required to board end up adding a travel time penalty between 1 and 2 hour. This means that high-speed rail tends to be, by far, the best mode of transportation between destinations that are distanced up to around 400km.