91ÊÓƵ

Electric-powered light rail like Portland’s MAX has been successful in reducing the number of people driving to work. But just like a car, light rail and other electric trains lose efficiency when they are required to brake and stop frequently to pick up passengers

But a concept model for a train that never stops could mean shorter waits for riders and more efficiency for the trains. Jianjun Chen’s Non-stop Train has passengers enter a ‘boarding compartment’ while waiting for the next train. The train then sweeps underneath the boarding compartment, which attaches itself to the moving train. Riders then descend into the main train until their next stop. To deboard, passengers go back up to the boarding compartment, which is left behind at the next stop.

Obviously, there are some serious engineering kinks to work out with this one. Would the inertia from the train grabbing onto the passenger compartment send passengers flying? Possibly. But in the meantime, this video of the Non-stop Train in action is pretty exciting to watch.