[Billionaires]

Swiss solar tech can be rolled out on railway tracks ‘like a carpet’

It's the first time that a removable system has been developed, which gives them more real-world potential for railway lines.

www.euronews.com

 

[Hogdogfatkat]

But… why? Most tracks are pretty rural in the USA and it would be expensive to run the electricity somewhere for storage. They’re better off expanding on the tech that came out of north Idaho which are solar panel roadways which offer as good of traction as asphalt and heat roads to melt ice/snow and can be easily interchanged when they go bad. Much more likely to be utilized than panels between train tracks.

 

[Sakura]

I guess it could work for tiny countries with no spare open lands. I wouldn't ride the trains that runs above it though because it seems dangerous.

The solution is to build faster and more efficient trains like what the Japanese invented recently. The Japanese are building super fast railways for the States from New York to the midwest in the next 3-4 years.

 

[Dreamformante]

I guess it could work for tiny countries with no spare open lands. I wouldn't ride the trains that runs above it though because it seems dangerous.

The solution is to build faster and more efficient trains like what the Japanese invented recently. The Japanese are building super fast railways for the States from New York to the midwest in the next 3-4 years.

I may have missed something, but why would it be dangerous?

 

[Sakura]

I may have missed something, but why would it be dangerous?

Unforeseen disaster like strong winds or earthquakes that cause the panels to move to certain orientation causing the trains to derail (derailment issues). Since it has electrical currents, it means there are possibility of fires (fire issues). Also, anything above the panels maybe hard to spot because the panels are reflective (visibility issues). And how are they going to solve the issue with buildup water puddles since the panels will be blocking the gravels underneath (drainage issue).

The trains need stopping distance and are highly dependent on the rails. Technically, nothing should be kept near the rails no matter how good an idea is, to preserve safety.

 

[Billionaires]

Unforeseen disaster like strong winds or earthquakes that cause the panels to move to certain orientation causing the trains to derail (derailment issues). Since it has electrical currents, it means there are possibility of fires (fire issues). Also, anything above the panels maybe hard to spot because the panels are reflective (visibility issues). And how are they going to solve the issue with buildup water puddles since the panels will be blocking the gravels underneath (drainage issue).

The trains need stopping distance and are highly dependent on the rails. Technically, nothing should be kept near the rails no matter how good an idea is, to preserve safety.

Good points