Win:Win for road & rail?

[Scuba_Steve]

These might be old news (after all vids from 2010) but 1st time I seen the things

Could be a good way to do long distance haulage rather than the big rigs rolling up/down SH1 each night, be more scenic for the drivers too I would imagine; our rail system still takes the "scenic" route for the most part

[unstuck]

Looks pretty cool. Instead of 9 big rigs a week that get hit by trains in the states, it could 18 big rigs getting totalled instead. Mind you those truck/train things seem to be going a hell of a lot slower than the normal trains, so may be able to stop quicker.

[caspernz]

Yes, an idea that has merit...except our network can't even handle the high-cube boxes going thru the tunnels as it is, so any big stuff is simply a no-go.

As an example: High-cube boxes coming south from Palmy can't go by rail as the Kapiti Coast tunnels are too low

But yep, even as a trucker myself, I have to admit the inter-modal approach would work in this country. The vast majority of crap moving by roads could easily travel by rail, if there was capacity

[NinjaNanna]

what's the #$% point in that!!!

If retrofitted trucks and their load could drive on drive off railway lines at any given point, then you'd have a useful system.

What you don't want is a system that requires double handling and pre-requisites of fixed sidings. That's the whole problem with rail to start with.

[DrunkenMistake]

Pretty neat!

I seen this the other day while I was looking up some work stuff,
http://eng.armaksa.com/products-2/co...railroadsland/

[oldrider]

Rail in NZ is too old too unreliable too much double handling involved ...without taxpayer subsidies it's just not economical and nobody really wants to use it!

The majority want "everyone else" to use it!

[mashman]

what's the #$% point in that!!!

If retrofitted trucks and their load could drive on drive off railway lines at any given point, then you'd have a useful system.

What you don't want is a system that requires double handling and pre-requisites of fixed sidings. That's the whole problem with rail to start with.

Are you saying that you could string trains of trucks and their loads together and order them in such a way that the rear truck would come off first, 2nd to rear would come off second etc...? So when they get close to their destination, they could detach, switch points, leave the main trunk, then leave the track close to their destination?

[unstuck]

Pretty neat!

I seen this the other day while I was looking up some work stuff,

Thats pretty cool, would be a lot easier to roll joints between tipping points than a normal artic dumper.

[NinjaNanna]

Are you saying that you could string trains of trucks and their loads together and order them in such a way that the rear truck would come off first, 2nd to rear would come off second etc...? So when they get close to their destination, they could detach, switch points, leave the main trunk, then leave the track close to their destination?

no - each truck is still an individual entity, they just travel on the rail rather than road. They'd be retrofitted to get on and off the rails at any suitable point on the line. Traffic management would be difficult but we have very smart programmers and computer control for that these days.

The advantage would be heavy freight loads on a system that's actually meant for heavy loads rather than destroying the bitumen.

[Tigadee]

Mind you those truck/train things seem to be going a hell of a lot slower than the normal trains, so may be able to stop quicker.

Lower the train and put those rubber tyres to work slowing down the train? Otherwise a pair of disposable emergency reverse rocket boosters would do...

[mashman]

no - each truck is still an individual entity, they just travel on the rail rather than road. They'd be retrofitted to get on and off the rails at any suitable point on the line. Traffic management would be difficult but we have very smart programmers and computer control for that these days.

The advantage would be heavy freight loads on a system that's actually meant for heavy loads rather than destroying the bitumen.

Me likey...

[oldrider]

no - each truck is still an individual entity, they just travel on the rail rather than road. They'd be retrofitted to get on and off the rails at any suitable point on the line. Traffic management would be difficult but we have very smart programmers and computer control for that these days.

The advantage would be heavy freight loads on a system that's actually meant for heavy loads rather than destroying the bitumen.

The roads are already there costs less to make them stronger than it does to build a special purpose-built railway track and the existing one is too small and narrow anyway! Big $$$$$$

[Scuba_Steve]

The roads are already there costs less to make them stronger than it does to build a special purpose-built railway track and the existing one is too small and narrow anyway! Big $$$$$$

You don't need to build a "special purpose-built" track the current tracks would work fine aside from a few tunnels

[Marmoot]

Go home, Optimus Prime. You're drunk....

[oldrider]

You don't need to build a "special purpose-built" track the current tracks would work fine aside from a few tunnels

Bridges, tunnels and tracks, currently too old too narrow and too run down means new tracks all inclusive too many $$$$$$$.