High Speed Shuttle System

The High Speed Shuttle System (HiSSS) is a high speed transport system designed by the Confederacy of North Fellenas for travel between cities.
The system consists of a single, dual-level rail elevated above the ground at least 4 feet. Tube-shaped cars ride atop the rail with a wheel system consisting of four wheels at each point of connection to to the rail: two in a V-shape that nearly meet at the bottom portion of the rail and two horizontal wheels at the top of the rail.
The system is powered completely via electricity, using onboard battery packs and solar charging via the photovoltaic surfaces on the outer skin of the cars.
There is only one implementation of the HiSSS, connecting the cities of Valianton and Mercelshire, at 44 miles apart. The regular run can run station to station in 30 minutes, providing an average speed of nearly 90 mi/h and a top speed of 120 mi/h. There is a faster arrangement that can make the run in just under 20 minutes, averaging 135 mi/h and topping out at 175 mi/h. Four fully operable trains were built, three using the original design and one higher speed train. The higher speed train uses two higher speed motors per car rather than one.
It is called the Black Rattler because in the early days of operation the near black cars tended to rattle precariously on the rail. While the problem was fixed within the first year of operation, the name stuck.

Power Generation

Each car has a high capacity battery unit as well as solar recharge capability via the photovoltaic skin. A single run can be made by any given car on a charge, with spare capacity remaining.

Propulsion

Electric motor driven wheels along an upper/lower rail system. Each car has four drive wheels, driven by a single electric motor. The higher speed units have one motor per pair of drive wheels. The motors across all cars are electrical pulse synchronized to maintain a consistent speed.

Nickname

The Black Rattler

Manufacturer

Confederacy of North Fellenas

Owning Organization

Confederacy of North Fellenas

Rarity

Only one line was ever built.

Speed

90mi/h average, 120mi/h top; 135mi/h average, 175mi/ top

Complement / Crew

One driver, one engineer. Two hosts per passenger car.

Cargo & Passenger Capacity

250 passengers per car. About 2500 cu. ft. per cargo car, depending on configuration