the project was recently awarded ten million dollars in federal funding, which will be used to improve the quality of the tracks, build new stations (including one planned for middlebury), and install 13 new rail crossings. once tracks quality is improved, trains will be able to travel at 60 miles per hour, rather than the current maximum speed of 10-25 mph for freight trains.

vermont’s rail resurgence is reflective of a growing desire for public transit. currently there are only several train stations in the state. as the project develops in coming years, the hope is that vermont and surrounding areas will be able to rely more heavily on public transit, and reduce the state’s dependency on automobile traffic.

for students at middlebury, the hope is that the project will connect them to other public transit throughout new england, providing them with an even broader link to the region.

in this film, i spoke with senior architecture students working on proposals for a new train station in middlebury. the students, who are working on these projects as their senior theses, will present them to the town of middlebury select board at the end of the year.
 

“railroading in the 1890s would see several east-west and north-south main lines in operation including no less than five routes connecting” the west coast with the midwest and the deep south, american rails reports. but by the early 1920s, several issues pressed on rail as a mode of transportation: the monopolies created by railroad owners, heavy regulation and increased travel by air and auto. 

since the ’20s, rail use in the united states has diminished, with the industry suffering bankruptcies, takeovers and, in an attempt to revitalize the rails, eventual deregulation by the staggers rail act of 1980.

in more recent history, there has been a push for high-speed rail in the u.s., including $11 billion spent since 2009 to develop faster trains — an effort that was supposed to be president obama’s signature transportation project, according to the new york times. while we haven’t seen these improvements yet, there are three noteworthy high-speed train projects in the works: one each in texas (which will use the japanese bullet trains), florida and california. these all would connect two major cities and would cut travel times basically in half, all while providing passengers with a comfortable ride and lessening the burden on the environment as well. 

the wall street journal reports that the “sweet spot for revenue is in journeys between 200 and 600 miles,” which is about one to three hours of travel time by bullet train. compared to air, these so-called “short-haul” trips make up the bulk of u.s. air travel, and they also happen to be where airlines are the most wasteful, according to the article. once the infrastructure is built, which requires governmental and consumer support, high-speed rail could be a way ease our impact on the environment, experience less stress and save time, too.

the stinger is a monorail automobile hybrid concept. long straight stretches of highway would be outfitted with a monorail in the center of the truck lane flush with the roadway. using the autopilot technology, the stinger is a steel wheel fixed to a strut that hydraulically engages with the monorail with enough pressure to offset the payload of the vehicle plus any vehicle weight that could be safely displaced. the vehicle would then be riding on rubber tires as well as the steel wheels, reducing friction and improving fuel efficiency.

this idea is in its infancy. i am interested in collaborating with people and/or companies interested in building a prototype and testing feasibility. currently, there are trucks that use air bags to engage extra sets of wheels when the truck is carrying a load. this idea is a similar concept; however, the wheel would be made of steel and would be located in the center of the axle. i believe this concept has potential to greatly increase fuel efficiency as well as reduce tire wear and road maintenance.

photo credit to futureatlas.com.

off-the-shelf hardware could make this a reality. no technological advances would be needed, just social and political will. there is an organization that is looking a few steps beyond the proposal outlined here, and it is worth looking to see what the future of this type of rail service could evolve into, if acted upon.
http://www.interstatetraveler.us/

the railheads could be spaced every 100 miles or so, with full container facilities to move the freight from rail cars to trucks. in the long run, all railroads can be electrified to reduce use of fossil fuels; this would require major investment in locomotives and catenaries. trucks could also be electrified or retrofit with hybrid motors.