Autonomous Pod Train - intermodal
Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2022 2:21 pm
So a company called Parallel Systems is trying to revolutionize how containers get from ports to the businesses that consume them. Plans to use small battery powered boogies to move the containers without use of a locomotive. Here's the video from the company:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5IUUx1t-ms
Two railfans that have reviewed it just poke all sorts of holes in this plan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJNvpG5gktM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roGvwDGfE70
I like the idea, in general, of railcars autonomously getting to their destinations without a lot of human intervention. Watching when a railcar goes past the spur to its business because it's part of a larger train, getting resorted at some yard a hundred miles away, to then get put on a local that then does the pickup/dropoff, and repeat, just doesn't seem efficient at times. Would be nice if the cars that need to be dropped off could be done so easier. Some sort of way to get all cars sorted easily in the correct order out of a yard, and quickly dropoff/pickup cars without utilizing more crews would be nice.
Thoughts?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5IUUx1t-ms
Two railfans that have reviewed it just poke all sorts of holes in this plan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJNvpG5gktM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roGvwDGfE70
I like the idea, in general, of railcars autonomously getting to their destinations without a lot of human intervention. Watching when a railcar goes past the spur to its business because it's part of a larger train, getting resorted at some yard a hundred miles away, to then get put on a local that then does the pickup/dropoff, and repeat, just doesn't seem efficient at times. Would be nice if the cars that need to be dropped off could be done so easier. Some sort of way to get all cars sorted easily in the correct order out of a yard, and quickly dropoff/pickup cars without utilizing more crews would be nice.
Thoughts?