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Privately-Owned Rail Cars
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- amrocha 1y ago[flagged]
- Nevermark 1y agoOther than the cost of the car (which is going to hold its value for decades) & its fees, how is this anywhere near decadent if someone with some money likes to travel this way? Wherein lies the harm? People spend more on higher end RVs, burning more fuel, wheels & wear. This is nowhere near the league of anything that travels through the air with a hint of luxury.
- amrocha 1y agoThe privatization of the public good is the problem, regardless of how ecological or economical you rig your economy to make it look.
- Nevermark 1y agoYou are confusing several things. First, train cars are not a precious limited resource. Someone having a car creates no impediments to anyone else. Second, nothing is being taken from a public sphere - these are one off historically interesting cars being maintained by private individuals at no cost to the public, instead of being scrapped by private companies. So in fact, something that would be wasted is continuing to get use. Third, many of these cars are being made available for use to anyone, not just their owners, to help cover their costs. More options for everyone is in fact, a real public good. The world is full of injustice but it’s worth not confusing someone having something others don’t with someone using wealth to suppress or harm others. There is nothing here to “fix”. No imbalance or obvious benefit here to justify repressing others. Overreactions to injustice are, unfortunately, a common source of injustices themselves. I share your concerns for others, and also feel deep frustration with the status quo of increasingly unaccountable wealth-driven compounding of economic, political, social, health, educational and legal inequality.
- amrocha 1y agoI’m not confusing anything, I just disagree with you. It’s not an economic argument, it’s an ideological one. Public goods should serve the public. No amount of money can change that.
- antegamisou 1y ago[flagged]
- Nevermark 1y ago> It’s not an economic argument, it’s an ideological one. I see. Other's shouldn't make economic choices based on economically created benefit or harm, but to submit to your ideology. Yet, these were never public goods. And they are more available to the public now. Reality doesn't conform to ideology. The latter only helps when it contributes to understanding, instead of limiting it.
- amrocha 1y agoThe fish is blind to the ocean. All of your arguments are soaked in the ideology of economic primacy. From where I stand, it seems like you’re the one that refuses to understand the argument that doesn’t agree with your ideology. And to be clear, I couldn’t care less if you own a rail car, but you shouldn’t get to use public infrastructure to operate it.
- Nevermark 1y ago> The fish is blind to the ocean. All of your arguments are soaked in the ideology of economic primacy. Ok. I guess if you had any actual points you would have made them instead of poor sport poetry and blatant projection. I don't believe in economic primacy. Nor do I have ideology. I don't think any one way of looking at things can ever be complete. As I already stated. It was you, who explicitly outed yourself as ideological, and are making ideological arguments instead of practical ones based on actual harm or benefit. People or businesses pay to use public parks for events, public buildings, school buses, the list is endless. People like this. It is viewed as pro-sharing, pro-community. These options makes public asset more valuable to the public, help defray costs, and increase the good they generate for society. With any harm or mistreatment to anyone.
- jazzyjackson 1y agoLots of countries have rich dudes with private coaches.
- amrocha 1y agoThat’s why it’s called an empire, it needs vassal states
- nemomarx 1y agoso how do you get a privately owned train car and get it to the tracks or etc? from this page it sounds like you own it but Amtrak keeps it parked at their switching stations or something
- mhalle 1y agoPrivate collectors offer them for charter. https://www.aaprco.com/ https://www.aaprco.com/
- AnimalMuppet 1y agoThey do. But I didn't see anything on there about cost. Does anyone know, even rough numbers?
- bombcar 1y agoSee the other posts but realistically it’s in the tens of thousands. Which considering how many can travel in one might not be terribly expensive.
- Symbiote 1y agoFootball supporters in England sometimes charter whole trains to see particular matches. I've only seen one of these trains once, and it was an ordinary train. I've no idea what the cost would be.
- Stevvo 1y agoIt's really whatever you want to pay. i.e. You can get anything from rusted scrap metal up to extravagant luxury.
- y-curious 1y agoHow much is a bare minimum safety rusted piece of crap? Something tells me you can't win over Amtrak pricing, sadly
- c_moscardi 1y agoRiding in the family rail car like it’s 1895 (and you’re a robber baron)
- woadwarrior01 1y agoReminds me of seeing Stalin's personal train car[1] at a museum in his birthplace in Gori, Georgia, a couple of years ago. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin_Museum,_Gori#/media/File:Stalins_carriage.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin_Museum,_Gori#/me...
- brazzy 1y agoHow about the personal train car of (Mad / Fairy Tale) King Ludwig II of Bavaria: https://www.kulturstiftung.de/ein-versailles-auf-raedern/ https://www.kulturstiftung.de/ein-versailles-auf-raedern/
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- LargoLasskhyfv 1y agoI'd prefer something more modern. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tito's_Blue_Train https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tito's_Blue_Train https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2021/02/this-was-gaddafis-personal-italian-high.html https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2021/02/this-was-gaddafis-pers...
- vertnerd 1y agoI've found nowhere that any price is mentioned, so I have to assume that it's one of those "if you have to ask..." sort of things. Edit: https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/privatecars/Amtrak-Private-Car-Rate-Addendum-7-111824.pdf https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/p... Slightly less than $5 a mile with a minimum of $2296. The rate to park your car is around $4000 a month. Fun thing to do if you have the money.
- evanb 1y agoIt's linked as "Rate Addendum Number 7". https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/privatecars/Amtrak-Private-Car-Rate-Addendum-7-111824.pdf https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/p...
- haunter 1y agoThe rate document has costs https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/privatecars/Amtrak-Private-Car-Rate-Addendum-7-111824.pdf https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/p...
- wodenokoto 1y agoThat's what makes this interesting to me. Because I feel like, if you own an operatable train car that can be hooked up to AmTrak, then you not only don't have to ask for the pricing, but do you even have to google to see if you can hook it up?
- reactordev 1y agoThis. There’s an old saying - “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it”
- varelse 1y ago[dead]
- gambiting 1y ago
- dynm 1y agoIf you're wondering the most obvious thing: - Cost per mile: $4.72 - Minimum charge: $2296 There are also a huge number of other fees that I can't tell if you'd need to pay in practice, e.g.: - Additional Locomotive Fee (per loco mile): $7.54 - Amtrak Locomotive Daily Charge: $2513 - Head End Power Daily Charge: $3433 - Annual Administrative Fee: $574 https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/privatecars/Amtrak-Private-Car-Rate-Addendum-7-111824.pdf https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/p...
- daft_pink 1y agoPretty sure if you own your own $2 million+ private train car this is not a big deal.
- trillic 1y agoIf you have to ask you can't afford it.
- bluGill 1y agoThose prices seem in reach for a dream vacation that you save up for. You can rent railcars that are already approved. buying a custom rail car is possible but likely out of budget for normal people.
- TylerE 1y agoThe nice ones are almost all old business cars. The business car was used by the railroads for senior executives to move around their systems, and hold meetings.. usually contain a couple of executive bedrooms, a staff bedroom (they typically carried a cook and a steward, although the roles were sometimes combined). The rear half or so of the car is an open plan lounge/meeting room. The cars were usually built by a company like Pullman, usually from a time frame of roughly 1900 +/- 20 years. Huge money pits, with tons of (often quite ornate) wood m, etc. then add the cost of restoration (again almost all of these cars are 100+ years old), retrofitting modern electrical systems, air conditioning. Could easily be a million dollar project.
- thrownawaysz 1y agoThe US feels more and more like a playground for rich peope. Insert ‘always has been’ meme Affordable public transport for the peasants though? lmao no
- blakesterz 1y agoI'm not into trains at all, but the American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners has some pretty nice looking cars you can charter: https://www.aaprco.com/charter-a-private-car https://www.aaprco.com/charter-a-private-car I guess it starts at $30,000? Though that might be for an entire train, not just the cars above. https://www.amtrak.com/charter-your-private-train https://www.amtrak.com/charter-your-private-train
- AnimalMuppet 1y agoThat seems to be chartering the cars from Amtrak, though, not from the private car owners.
- righthand 1y agoThis better than every wealthy person owning an RV. Though there is still the last mile problem. Does my personal train car have a vehicle on board (probably I’m rich in this scenario)? Groups of wealthy people could split a train car. Private Train-car time shares?
- soared 1y agoIf you can afford one, you can surely afford a second one to put your car/bike/gear/stuff in
- AnimalMuppet 1y agoIf you're actually wealthy, you don't have to split a train car. Last mile problem? Have your personal assistant drive whatever vehicle you want and have it waiting when the train arrives. They can take an Uber back to wherever they need to be next.
- valzam 1y agoAnd during downtime you could sell space on your train car. Maybe even have an app for it, like uber for trains. Or as commonly know, regular trains.
- flir 1y ago> Does my personal train car have a vehicle on board (probably I’m rich in this scenario)? The back lowers and either a black Trans Am or a trio of red white & blue Minis drive out, depending on personal taste.
- itronitron 1y agoI was thinking you could just park one of those small 'air taxis' to the top of the train car (allowing clearance for tunnels and bridges).
- flir 1y agoHmm. Clearance unnecessary: scissor lift.
- d_burfoot 1y agoMy wife loves the train (hates driving) and so this would be quite interesting to us. But I've heard too many Amtrak horror stories, like the one about how the train broke down about ten miles away from her destination, and they wouldn't let her get off, so she had to sit there for ten hours until they were able to fix it.
- UtopiaPunk 1y agoThe car horror stories are much worse
- stackedinserter 1y agoHaving a toilet in your sleeping compartment, in 40cm from your pillow is a horror story by itself.
- IAmBroom 1y agoMaybe small spaces just aren't your thing?
- stackedinserter 1y agoSleeping in a washroom is not my thing. Is it yours?
- avazhi 1y agoMy bedroom shares a wall with my bathroom in my penthouse apartment. My toilet is less than a meter from my head. What does it matter, mate? There’s a wall…
- stackedinserter 1y agoAmigo, there's literally a toilet (shared with another person in your room) near your bed, look https://imgur.com/a/abw8NRg https://imgur.com/a/abw8NRg No wall, nothing, just you, your roommate and a toilet for you two.
- 1y ago
- impish9208 1y agoThere’s an episode of Archer where Cheryl Tunt, the company secretary, does exactly this on a trip from New York to somewhere in Canada. Their agency was extraditing a Nova Scotian separatist.
- PopAlongKid 1y ago>Cheryl Tunt, the company secretary, The independently wealthy company secretary, whose family owned the railroad, as I recall.
- Henchman21 1y agoNot just owners, they built the railroads, in that universe. She seems to recall her grandmother thinking “slavery was pretty great”
- Rendello 1y ago"What are you doing here?" "Uh, trying to perform my ablutions?" I learned a great new word from that episode. Archer is one of the best shows for strange and funny use of language, they just nail my favourite type of humour.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- nimbius 1y agoChina has more than 550 cities with high speed rail lines spanning over 40,000km. each with first class, toilets, and meal services. Or...you can buy an entire rail car, hitch it to the haggard burro that is Amtrak and chug along at pony express speeds across the United States of nothingness until freight rail causes you to have to stop for 3 hours at a time as you do not have right of way. Enjoy Batesland Nebraska at 20mph slower than the interstates posted speed limit. who at Amtrak thought this was worth even mentioning?
- thinkingtoilet 1y agoIf I was extremely wealthy I would ride around in my private rail car over flying 100% of the time.
- bitmasher9 1y agoFor me the whole point of flying is fast travel. Private even more so, because it operates on your schedule. A Amtrak train is slower than driving.
- thinkingtoilet 1y agoIt depends. I take the Amtrack from Albany to Chicago once a year or so because I hate flying. It's maybe an hour or two slower than driving and that's with a lot of time built in to the schedule for delays. The last time I took it We left Albany 45 minutes late and still made it on time to Chicago. Yes, delays happen, just like in traffic or at the air port, but I find the focus on delays when Amtrak comes up extremely over-stated. Perhaps it's just the routes I'm on.
- guappa 1y agoWow you take the train once a year, certainly there's nobody more qualified than you to speak about them!
- Gud 1y agoIf you have all the money in the world, why would you need to go fast? Just enjoy the ride in comfort and style.
- goody71 1y agoI saw this car on Chicago Metra's UPN line: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_553 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_553 I was reverse commuting at the time and wondered what the hell the car was as it looked different than all the other modern cars. I imagine in its heyday it was probably a decent party back up to the North Shore.
- dboreham 1y agoOne of the places people with these cars visit is Yellowstone, and I've talked to a few of them at the local burger stand (closest food to the railroad siding where they "park"). Interesting people, and less pretentious than I expected for private train owners. I suppose a train is cheaper than a private plane.
- thrance 1y agoOnly in the US could the most collectivistic and efficient mode of transport be perverted into yet another incredibly inefficient and individualistic toy for the wealthy. I can't seem to find anything like that anywhere else.
- cjj_swe 1y agoPuts a smile on my face!
- Henchman21 1y agoAre we the baddies?
- 1123581321 1y agoThis was an interesting thread with some history of private train cars/carriages in Europe with links to a few that still exist. https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?17,2602590,nodelay=1 https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?17,2602590,n... It anppears to be Amtrak’s greater flexibility and uniformity of gauges in North America that allows this. Europe has more of the historical private wealth that would still own and want to operate a private train or carriage.
- Symbiote 1y agoI don't think the gauges were much of an issue for passenger trains, after all there were many running across Europe (Orient Express etc). It's probably more that distances were shorter, the crazy rich could afford an entire train, and the less-rich would use private luxury carriages owned by the railway companies. Since the 1950s or so, the flexibility has been gradually lost as trains become mostly fixed formations for speed, safety etc, so that certainly explains why it doesn't exist now in Europe.
- HPsquared 1y agoHow about airship tours? Not massively different to a train car in terms of pace, but with much more space and good line of sight for sightseeing and internet connectivity.
- Fade_Dance 1y agoHindenburg. I know it's silly, but it was an instant mental blurt, and I can't be the only one.
- abstrakraft 1y agoAirship design has advanced since the Hindenburg. Notably, they don't use hydrogen anymore.
- LargoLasskhyfv 1y agoActually it wasn't about the hydrogen that much. More like the hull painted with flammable stuff. With todays materials it couldn't have burned like that. So any airship design of today NOT using hydrogen is wasting buoyancy, and a rare (on earth) element, which could be put to use for more important things. Out of irrational fear...
- stickfigure 1y agoAlso, remember that half the people on the Hindenburg walked away from the incident. Jetliner passengers do not usually fare so well in crashes.
- Fade_Dance 1y agoI actually didn't know that. TIL.
- Qwertious 1y agoFWIW it was about hydrogen - the Hindenburg was designed around Helium (and thus didn't have various safeties around hydrogen) but due to embargoes against Nazi Germany they couldn't get the necessarily helium, so they filled it up with hydrogen against the original spec.
- ianks 1y agoThere is nothing more saddening than the state of America’s train situation. It’s like we’re fundamentally incapable of understanding the value of shared infrastructure. In the rare case that a state escapes the matrix and actually realizes the benefit, we can’t get the damn thing built. I want a packed bullet train, not a fucking slow private train car.
- sailfast 1y agoIt’s never been shared, FWIW. The rails are mostly privately owned and were built that way too. That said - bullet trains are great but I fully support the ability of individuals to pay to access freight or passenger rail to subsidize the infra.
- rbanffy 1y ago> bullet trains are great but I fully support the ability of individuals to pay to access freight or passenger rail to subsidize the infra. It’d be even nicer if you could hook your private car to a bullet train.
- LargoLasskhyfv 1y agoUnlikely. Because they tend to be close-coupled units with distributed power and traction control. In case of anything Talgo-related with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobs_bogie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobs_bogie 's even more so.
- rbanffy 1y agoIt’d need to be a new stander for rail cars, but that seems totally reasonable.
- jazzyjackson 1y agoLand was granted to the railroads with the agreement that they would run passenger rail services. When passenger rail became so unprofitable that it was bankrupting rail companies, they lobbied to make it the governments responsibility to move people around and leave them to make money shuffling freight.
- PopAlongKid 1y agoThis railfan web site occasionally includes sighting reports, sometimes with photos, of trains that include private railcars. https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/list.php?4 https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/list.php?4
- noobermin 1y agoCharacteristic of the time. Anything that benefits some fraction of the population that isn't wealthy is woke and is thus doubleplusungood. Thusly, organizations are forced to derive their revenue from catering to the small fraction of wealthy folks who derive more and more from everyone else.
- snthd 1y agoHow does it work if you want a steam train?
- IAmBroom 1y agoWell, the fuel - typically coal - heats a big container of water to the boiling point. The vapor is collected, and used as a force (because steam expands) to move the pistons, just like the ones moved by gas explosions in your car. Then the conductor pulls the chain, and the train makes that whistle sound and spouts a lot of white smoke, which means you are nearing an old-timey town.
- bluGill 1y agoask UP - I'm sure they will agree to run big boy for you for a price. I'd guess $100k/day but I'm not going to ask. Of course if you have something historic and are going where they want to show off big boy anyway it could be much less.
- lmm 1y agoIf you want to hitch your steam train to the back of an Amtrak train and have it towed then you can follow the same rules as a private car. If you want to actually drive your steam train then you'd need to negotiate with the track owner, which may be hard, particularly if they run on PTC (there's literally one ERTMS-compliant steam train in the world, for example). There's no public right of way on railway tracks for randoms, only for Amtrak (and even they have limits).
- spcebar 1y agoI recently took a trip from Chicago to LA and saw some folks doing just this! They had a restored Pullman sleeping car and a kitchen/bar car behind it with crystal chandeliers. Maybe the single most luxurious way to travel. Every stop people would get out and gawk at their cars.
- ghaff 1y agoI'm not sure why, other than for the nostalgia, I'd do this other than a trans-Atlantic ocean liner. I have take fairly comfortable sleepers in Europe but nothing like a luxurious ship.
- spcebar 1y agoRail is my favorite way to travel. Going to sleep at night with the country going by is one of the finest feelings imaginable in life, little towns with lights on in empty public squares, just one of my absolute favorite things. And you wake up in endless fields or breathtaking views of canyons and mountains. The people are friendly and you meet new ones at every meal. The sleeper accommodations aren't exactly the Ritz, but they're cozy and comfortable and good for reading or writing or just sitting and looking out the window for hours. Coffee is plentiful and decent, meals are probably microwaved but served on white tablecloths. Cruises give me a feeling of disconnectedness. You're on endless waves, endless sea, in the middle of nowhere. On the train, even going through a desert you feel like you're in the moving center of the world and every stop you could get off and be in a town you'd never heard of that means something to someone. You feel like you're a part of the grand and forgotten history that built the country.
- ghaff 1y agoVery poetic but on the ocean liner you have plenty of space to move around with lectures, nice meals, and other activities.
- spcebar 1y agoIt definitely depends on what you're looking for. I'm very happy with extremely low-key, cozy, and quiet. There are trains that have lectures and good meals (the trans Canadian railway!) but not Amtrak as far as I'm aware.
- NaOH 1y agoPreviously: Privately-Owned Rail Cars - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33460052 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33460052 - Nov 2022 (244 comments) Ride in your privately-owned rail car to see North America - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10324823 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10324823 - Oct 2015 (2 comments)
- JumpCrisscross 1y ago“attached to our trains between specified locations” What are they?
- ianbicking 1y agoIt feels like there’s some kind of Party Train opportunity here, similar to a party bus.
- mc3301 1y agoThey do this in Japan occasionally. I've been on (officially organized by the railroad company) beer trains, wine and cheese trains, local food-tasting trains, etc. Last time, it was like 5,000 yen. All-you-can drink local beer, 2 hour round-trip with stops along the way where local mayors would hope on the train for a quick "hello" speech. Trivia quizzes, bathroom stops at stations (with perplexed-looking late-night commuters), souvenirs for sale... Good times!
- spc476 1y agoA decade ago a friend of mine rented a private rail car (for cost---he knows the owner) for a family trip/birthday present, and I got to ride on it for a few hours as it was being positioned (https://boston.conman.org/2015/08/05.4 https://boston.conman.org/2015/08/05.4). I didn't get a price from him, but it was clear it was pretty much the cost of a new car. The car he was renting came with a lounge, three state rooms, bathroom, dining room, kitchen and two crew members (cook and porter, with their own sleeping quarters). Their trip was from Miami to Chicago back to Jacksonville (where the car is stored---I rode on it from central Florida to Boca Raton as it was being positioned prior to the start of the family trip; because it was running late, I didn't get a chance to eat lunch on it, sigh) over the course of a week or so. If I could, this is how I would travel, but of course, this being the US, it's not really a viable means of transportation.
- zdragnar 1y ago> but of course, this being the US, it's not really a viable means of transportation. Surely if the problem with roads and cars is that private transportation takes up too much room, then widespread private train cars by everyone would be equally problematic pretty much anywhere in the world.
- bluGill 1y agoLong distance routes do not take up that much room - most people don't do it often enough. You wouldn't want this for getting to work every day - that wouldn't work. Though a train car can safely follow closer than a auto so it would still be better than private autos.
- selectodude 1y agoIt’s not unprecedented. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_553 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_553
- stockresearcher 1y ago
- 7e 1y agoIn my experience, these cars are old and decrepit, and force you to breathe locomotive engine exhaust all the time, and especially when the train is idling. It’s a fast track to cancer. Don’t spend any more time than you need to in one. They do not offer the air quality of a modern passenger rail car. Heck, I wouldn’t even sleep in a modern rail car at night, in a rail yard, when all systems are off.
- Peteragain 1y agoThe comparison is perhaps with a private yacht. And can I live aboard permanently on a siding somewhere? The local cement works has a siding... Hmm
- bombcar 1y agoYou actually can. You need access to the siding (even ones next to a cement plant or abandoned building are often railroad controlled or owned) - the trickiest part is car or walking access. If a truck can get next to it then you have sewage and fuel deliver solved. Now you just need $100k-$2000k for the private car!
- bell-cot 1y agoYou'd really want a siding with (RR-specific) electrical connections, no noisy/smelly industry next to you, decent views, an elevated platform, and some parking spaces. They're darn rare, but do exist. If I was Old Money, I'd probably build more in a few in beautiful spots - and freely loan 'em to my peers, as a social networking thing.
- ghaff 1y agoThere are houseboats as well.
- ivan_gammel 1y agoCrazy idea based on this: a mobile home that can be put either on rail car or electric car platform. Those platforms are pooled and can be rented at designated stations. Or maybe a platform where you can simply park and connect your RV. You basically outsource driving for the significant part of your travel and just enjoy the road. Also better for the environment.
- Maxion 1y agoYou just invented the car train / motorail. Amtrack even operate one! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorail https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorail Theres also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_shuttle_train https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_shuttle_train but they generally are shorter distance
- ivan_gammel 1y agoNo, it is not it. The idea is that the living module or RV is still occupied during the travel unlike the motorail, where passengers are traveling in separate passenger cars. Car shuttle trains where passengers stay inside the vehicle also do not offer connection of utilities to RV. And my idea goes further where living module is disconnected from engine/wheels platform when loaded on the train (if the design is standardized similarly to containers, you can get new one at the destination, so the train carries less weight).
- Maxion 1y agoWeight is not really an issue for trains, RVs / cars weigh absolutely nothing in comparison to even just a rail car. For safety reasons you can't really have people sit in their cars on the train. The Eurostar etc. has extensive fire systems et. al. to make it possible.
- ivan_gammel 1y agoAgain, the idea is about new design that can make it possible. It has nothing to do with existing regulations for cars.
- marcusverus 1y agoPeople want this kind of service, but they generally don't like the 19th century experience that is rail travel. Which leads me to a hot take: Within a decade, Autonomous RVs will be the preferred method of travel (above rail and flight) for most trips with a one-way drive time under ~10 hours. Imagine a private rail car which could pick you up at your doorstep and drop you off in front of your hotel. Is your destination more than a few hours away? Book an evening pick up time and utilize the sleeper configuration. For a 16 hour round trip, such a service could reduce the perceived door-to-door travel time from a full day to near zero.
- kevin_thibedeau 1y agoWe won't have level 5 in a decade.
- mmmlinux 1y agoScrew buying expensive road cars when you win the lottery, ill be buying train cars.
- zoeey 1y agoWhen I was a kid, I thought growing up meant taking trains across states. But now even reliable daily commutes feel out of reach. So when I see something like Brightline, it’s quietly moving. Just the image of someone riding an old railcar across America makes the world feel a little more romantic.