You commented about timing issues? Looks as though there is always a shuttle traveling alongside of the train no mater what.

So before you would get to the next "Stop" the conductor would simply tell everyone to board the shuttle for the "stop". That shuttle detaches from the main train as the shuttle picking up those that are boarding at the "stop" is picked up. No real timing issues as the people board the main train IN motion along with the shuttle and they disembark after their leaving shuttle has stopped at the platform.

Pretty smart... however, the REAL question is, if this is to help save energy... doesn't it take just as much energy, if not MORE to speed the shuttles up to catch the train AND to power the lights and computer systems on board the shuttles? I understand the shuttles are much smaller however, the savings has to be pretty marginal I would imagine.

To clarify... it looks like 2 shuttles... one for boarding passengers and one for those disembarking. One detaches as the other joins on.

@Macinta
If I where them, I would try not to speed up the shuttle at all as the main train has plenty of kinetic energy. Some sort of braking system would be pretty cool.. Something that smoothly engages as the main train passes underneath. After all, that's the same mechanism when dropping off the shuttles. You're just 'stopping' relative to a moving object rather than a fixed one. If they where really slick and efficient in powering the shuttle, regenerative breaking could supply power to the batteries on the shuttle...

stupid idea . if starting and slowing down a train is energy inefficient - well , let's drain from the train into an energy source , and feed this back to the train after start - a battery that can store 100% of the slowing down , and releasing 99% of it in pure speed - a slope . e=1/2m*v2 converted into E=m*g*h - and back infintely . you can slow down the train using fuzzy logic - measure the weight of the train on accelerating , and deciding on the point of engine stopping . it's that simple . a heap of dirt or going underground vs an infinitley complicated system .

Um. Dexter. I'm fairly certain that nothing in existence that will convert 100% of the kinetic energy into stored energy... And no motor that I know of that will convert 99% of stored energy into kinetic energy. Also, I don't see what's so infinitely complicated about that system. It would only work on routes with a relatively low stop density, so I don't know that the savings in energy would make up for the added cost and complexity, but it's not a stupid idea. Bringing to a stop 4 tons of train and then restarting it is far more efficient than stopping 80 tons worth of train. If the savings where non-existent, the idea wouldn't have made it to the visualization stage...

Ummm Hello? I thought this was the "Sci-Fi channel"??All REAL Sci-Fi Fans already know this idea.All others, please refer to Robert Heinlien's "The Roads Must Roll"

This technology is more than 40 years old, developed by Germans in 60's with their train with no wheels, next time you'd better make some better research before you start to write nosense.

Hi, this is actually not really the main point, but I am wondering, why is the main still picture of the train the MRT of Singapore??!!

Yes I live in Singapore, and that's the Singapore's SMRT, or Singapore Mass Rapid Transit, so why is it used for a Taiwanese story??

doesn't appear realy practical for people. In his demo, the incoming "shuttle" pod essentially comes to an almost immediate stop when it reaches the station and the outgoing "shuttle" pod is wrenched from a stop to the speed of the moving train almost immediately. The acceleration and deceleration forces would be similar to those on an extreme roller coaster.
I assume he envisages a much longer speed-up, slowdown track than he is showing in his model. It would need to be on the order of a mile or so at least to provide a comfortable acceleration and deceleration for the pods.
Much longer for something like a high-speed bullet train.
Might be feasible for a really low speed local transport, but not for anything else

This is identical to the system proposed by Isaac Asimov in _Caves of Steel_ back in the 60s.

Okay the train looked like it was sped up by magnets the magnet gradually got it to speed and then a locking mecanism locked it into place. On the disembarking train the locking mechanism simply releasted at the right point, the magnet on the back slowed it down as it left and the car glided along to the station, it does actually save energy becuase the only thing that needs power on the shuttle is the lights.

Kudos, Johnnie5, for recognizing the OLDEST reference in sci-fi!! Yep, Robert Heinlein was the genius who envisioned this, and his story was first published in 1940, superceding Asimov AND those Germans in the '60s!! Heinlein is one of my heroes, and it's always nice to see his dreams become a reality!!

There already is a hybrid locomotve that captures braking energy and uses it to re-accelerate: the GE Evolution Locomotive. Link: http://www.popsci.com/popsci/flat/bown/2007/green/item_60.html
Due to start service in 2009, already made a cross-country haul for testing.

Personal Rapid Transit (3-4 person "pods" that take the riders directly from their point of origin to point of destination on a guideway that is not at street level), which is nearing deployment at Heathrow airport, seems more practical and energy efficient than this, unless the idea here is to serve long-haul passengers. Perhaps PRT could be used for local service, and a non-stop train (or rolling track, ala Heinlein) could serve long-haul customers. Instead of shuttles offboarding passengers to a literally non-stop train, PRT Pods could catch up and piggyback on rolling roads or flatcars on track until time to detach and proceed back into local service in the city or region of destination. That way, people would not need to shift their own locations while enroute. They would enter their own "pod" at point of departure, stay in it while piggy-backed on the long-haul conveyance, and disembark from it upon arrival at their point of destination. That seems more people-friendly to me than the scheme described above. Transit planners need to work to minimize "mode shifts." The complex dance of moving between vehicles to get anywhere via "public transit" or "mass transit" may fascinate geeky transit planners, but passengers don't like it.

There is a transportation system running for many years (at least 30) where people walk on a moving track, get into a non-stop car and ride along for a while, visiting other attractions. Then you get off the car and step on the same moving track. It is called the PeopleMover and you can ride it in Disney World in Orlando, Florida. I bet Disneyland in Califonia has the same thing.

This is not a new idea. The train needs not to stop completely to move people on or off. And the slowdown energy can be transferred to flywheels, whhic will return over 90% on the energy back to accelerate the train.

Raymond

There is a transportation system running for many years (at least 30) where people walk on a moving track, get into a non-stop car and ride along for a while, visiting other attractions. Then you get off the car and step on the same moving track. It is called the PeopleMover and you can ride it in Disney World in Orlando, Florida. I bet Disneyland in Califonia has the same thing.

This is not a new idea. The train needs not to stop completely to move people on or off. And the slowdown energy can be transferred to flywheels, whhic will return over 90% on the energy back to accelerate the train.

Raymond

Wouldn't the start/stop system work along the lines of a roller coaster system, That is, being based on magnetic repulsion and attraction?
Just a thought.

To Raymond: I don't think they have the peoplemover at Anaheim Disneyland; It's never been there any time I have visited in the past several decades, at least. I have never been to Orlando, but hope to see DisneyWorld, EPCOT, and the PeopleMover someday. PRT differs from peoplemovers in that the pods tend to move somewhat faster than is common in peoplemover applications, and the use of offline stops (not stations, in most cases, but more like taxi-stands) allows direct, non-stop service for everyone.

To Donald: Some PRT systems would use linear motors, as you describe. Others, like the one now being built at Heathrow, use tiny electric cars with tires. There are other variations. I am told that the light rail in Vancouver BC also uses linear motors, and hope to get a chance to ride that system one day, when I finally get to make a return trip to Vancouver.

Tracerbullet:
a slope does store energy well . going up you lose speed , gain height - going down the height is converted back to speed . no real problems with this .if you put the train underground it saves territory and the stations can be at a comfortable height .

The PeopleMover was once an attraction at Anaheim Disneyland. Unfortunately, the west coast version was often out of service due to mechanical malfunction, and the ride was eventually closed many years ago.

As to the reference to 'The Roads Must Roll,' that system actually used a system of continuous parallel-travelling belts, similar to what you can find in some airports (both for baggage and people). Each belt moved a few MPH faster than the preceding one, and you jumped from one belt to the next to accelerate or decelerate.

Disney's PeopleMover was actually an extension of this idea, as well as ideas from H.G. Wells.

For anyone interested, 'The Roads Must Roll' is part of Heinlein's 'Future History' collection.

Oh, and just a satirical remark that all REAL Sci-Fi fans indeed refuse to use the term 'sci-fi' except in reference to our beloved television channel. Think 'SF'...

The person in video is not Peng Yu-lun. He's someone called Chen Jian-Jun (as you can tell on the upper right hand corner). I don't know if he or Peng came up with the idea, but this video has been carelessly circulated with the wrong information.

Could you please send me a video record of this mentioned non-stopped train project.

Thanks a lot...