Trains (whether its a subway/tube or a regular locomotive) travel very quick, and when approaching a station, they need to slow down to a stop.
Why not have the station be built slightly elevated from the tracks? so as the train approaches, it has to climb an upward slope (and therefore trade kinetic energy for potential energy)?
And then when it leaves the station, it can more quickly accelerate and gain up to its target speed? Wouldn’t this be more efficient?
​
In: Engineering
This is done sometimes, though more frequently on metro type systems. The Montréal metro is a good example. On mainline railway networks this is less practical, as not all trains stop everywhere, and it can result in some headaches from a design and maintenance perspective.
Latest Answers