Magtrains

Magtrains were an early 21st century reinvention of standard railway train cars. They started on some shorter rail lines, but as their value was recognized, soon almost every railway on Earth was replaced with the new electromagnetic railways.

Magtrains did not sit in the tracks like previous trains, instead hovering over by use of powerful repelling electromagnets. This allowed for increased speed because of the lack of rail friction. The traditional couplings were also replaced with even more powerful attracting electromagnets. If a car was to start falling off the rail, the automatic force sensors would disengage the electromagnets, and the car would fall off the track. When the car was gone, the magnets would reengage, and the car behind would locked into its spot. This mitigated derailments because instead of taking the rest of the train with it, only one car would be lost.

Propulsion

Each car was equipped with a small engine that would allow it to quickly catch up if the car ahead was derailed, but was inadequate for long term operation. One car that was identical to the others housed the larger engine that pushed/pulled the rest of the train. Each car was also equipped with a virtual intelligence operator that removed the need for an organic conductor. If the powering car was derailed, the rest of the train would be unable to travel far.

Speed

Over optimal terrain with a light load, a magtrain could reach speeds of up to 350 km/hr.