Owing to their mightiness and low friction between wheels and tracks, trains are known to be the most energy-efficient mass transportation means today, being able to transit a huge number of people at once with minimal carbon footprint. For at least 150 years, trains were the forerunners of civilization and prosperity. Wherever implemented, they made regions and communities flourish. However, they came with some downsides, making them lose popularity as more flexible and convenient (yet less energy-efficient) vehicles made their way to the market.
Today, despite the low popularity (2% of the trips and 8% of the miles), subsidies received by train operating companies (TOC) are 2.29-fold bigger than their revenues. There’s also an outrageous discrepancy between the expenditure allocated (60%) and the value delivered (2% or 8%).
On the other hand, giving up on trains might negatively affect the economy and increase the overall emissions from transportation, because train users will opt for less eco-friendly vehicles.
To overcome those problems, Nymbel provides a solution that is more beneficial to users and communities, has a smaller environmental and spatial footprint, and does NOT require operational subsidies. It achieves that by replacing the “BIG AND MIGHTY” mindset with “OPTIMAL” and “DISCONTINUOUS” with “SEAMLESS”. This is a more specific example of what this paradigm shift can achieve:
Train
Comments
Can transport, for example, 900 people every 30 minutes
Transports one person every two seconds, totalising also 900 people every 30 minutes
Same capacity. [1:1 ratio]
Requires an infrastructure to withstand at least a locomotive weighing 56 t and significant vibrations.
Requires an infrastructure to withstand a single Nymbel POD at a time (0.4 t) and no significant vibrations.
Infrastructure robustness. [1:140 ratio], with a proportional impact on the infrastructure cost.
Cross section required: 3.5 x 4.14 m= 14.5 sqm
Cross section required 1.4 x 1.8 m =2.52 sqm
Reduced spatial footprint [1 : 5.75 ratio]
The infrastructure is used 5-10 seconds every 30 minutes, the rest of the time sits idle.
The infrastructure is used every other second of the 30 minutes.
95% more resource/time/investment-efficient
Multiple stops between boarding and destination
After boarding, the only stop is the user’s final destination.
Reduces commuting time and energy usage significantly.
Average speed 25-60 mph
Average speed 80-100 mph
Reduces commuting time significantly
It must run according to the schedule even if it’s nearly empty.
It has no schedule, it is available 24/7/365, sets off as soon as boarded, and it only runs 100% occupied.
Increases convenience and energy efficiency.
It is important to keep in mind that trains require a modal shift while Nymbel do not. To take the train, people must get to the station, using other locomotion means, and once the trip ends they must shift again. The homologous sector to train rails in the Nymbel system plays the same role as motorways for the urban road network. It links cities at a higher speed. Vehicles exiting the urban Nymbel network where the speed is topped at 70 mph, enter the intercity network where traffic unfolds at 80-100 mph, without even stopping, just like cars merge onto the motorway traffic from slip roads.
Here’s a real-life comparison with the intercity train in the area where Nymbel was born:
