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Rikard's avatar

Using trains for transporting humans has never been profitable; it came about as an after thought when trains were the new hot tech, since the rails were already in place and the cabin of a stagecoach could be easily mounted on a railcarriage. There were even models built for quick swotching between rail and coach.

Trains are best suited for transporting goods, though places like Japan or South Korea might make that a lie.

If the Greens were serious about environmentally sound transports for humans, they'd endorse modernised zeppelins.

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epimetheus's avatar

Don't make matters more complicated than they are already (see my above reply to cm27874.

You're, of course, correct.

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cm27874's avatar

Hey, that's one of our German ICE trains in the picture! Explains the 48 hours.

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epimetheus's avatar

As a long-term 'customer' of the 'services' rendered by Deutsche Bahn, I'm in full agreement.

Also, what's so awesome about this posting is this: it is taken for granted that, first, that taking the train is somehow 'green', but--where's the electricity coming from? Sure, the socket, but in Germany, there's a sizeable share of lignite-deriving 'dirty' fuel involved.

Second, the shipping industry doesn't suffer from the same range of 'green' policies as the airline industry; typically, whatever oil that cannot be 'refined' is typically used to propel ships.

So, I for one would really like to see the 'carbon footprint' of these 48+ hour connections relative to air travel.

Sigh.

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Rikard's avatar

With modern filters and exhaust-cleaning technology, it is highly probable that a wood-powered steam-engine would be "greener" than an electrical train, if we don't calculate using tons/unit of energy/distance.

What I have failed to understand is why there's been no attempt do develop locomotives with a small nuclear reactor onboard. It would remove so much of potential logistical problems with railroads.

On the other hand, I'm no techno-magos or engine-seer so maybe it's just not feasible.

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cm27874's avatar

I remember Greta Thunberg crossing the Atlantic Ocean by boat, while her entourage (i.e., PR team) took the plane.

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