The suppression of advanced rail technology

It's amazing when you consider how little progress there has been in rail transport since the age of steam. In the UK in the 1930's the age of steam locomotives reached its zenith with the LNER locomotive “Mallard” setting a speed record of 126 miles per hour. Today in the 21^st Century we have very few trains around the World that can match this, and almost non in the UK. We have moved from steam to diesel and electrical trains, and better technology in rail construction and design, tilting trains to better negotiate corners, even Magnetic Levitation (maglev) trains, and yet globally the rail industry is in the doldrums whilst the road haulage industry grows year on year, and car use rises ever higher. Yet an efficient rail network can make a tremendous difference to a nations economy offering cost and resource savings over alternative transport methods. So what has gone wrong?

As with so many other rival technologies to those that generate profits to the oil industry, lobbying and political pressure has led to stagnation. Trains are efficient. In terms of costs it is 78% more efficient to transport heavy materials by rail rather than by road. The lower friction of metal wheel on rail and the ability to use more efficient electric motors makes a significant difference. We have seen this time and time again. Look at the slow development of hydrogen fuelled vehicles, the restrictions placed on renewable energy, the vast subsidies and tax breaks for petrochemical companies and the roles played by current and former senior politicians on the boards of those companies. Look at Haliburton, BP, Shell, Esso and the rest, and the vast amounts of profit that they make. Can there be any clearer reason.

Lets be clear about this. The technology exists to replace the existing rail network in Europe and North America with super high speed maglev systems, at less than the cost of maintaining the road network for a year. These trains can run at speeds of 350+ miles per hour as demonstrated by the Japanese JR Maglev experimental train, and even using conventional trains speeds exceeding 300 miles per hour have been achieved by the French TGV engine. This makes rail a realistic alternative, not just for road transport but for air travel across countries and would massively help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, one of the biggest causes of climate change.

So, what is the answer? It appears simple, we must find a way to create a distance between legislative bodies and corporate business. In this way decisions on the future progress of our transport network is taken out of the hands of vested business interests, and placed in the hands of politicians who are duty bound to act in the best interests of their electorate, assuming that this is the case of course. We must also understand that the luxury of having ubiquitous private transport in the form of petrol and diesel cars is one that as a planet we simply cannot afford, and in reaching that conclusion, understanding that our cars are something that many of us simply don't need. We have had it far too good for far too long, and that is something that has to change. Sorting out the rail industry is just one part of that problem, but understanding why there is a problem for rail is a big step forward in that process.