Why trains aren’t driverless

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I really don’t see the need to have a driver in a vehicle on rails.

In: 8

36 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

A lot (and I mean A LOT) of factors go into the safe and comfortable operation if a train.

First set of considerations are how many cars are actually loaded, how long each car is, and what type they are. This is for obvious reasons like weight, but also more obscure reasons like the amount of slack certain cars have in their knuckle and arms.

Next set of considerations are the grade of the track you’re on, the grade of the track the other parts of the train are on, and what future grades are going to be. These considerations factor in with the prior considerations, and so many are dependent on information a program wouldn’t have access to without a massive overhaul of the railcar industry, which if you know anything about rail, you’ve got a better chance of Paraguay taking over the world.

So AI trains are a no-go, because it takes a ton of dynamic abstract thought, and being a locomotive engineer is actually a pretty mentally intensive job when you’re doing more than running the same number of passenger cars across the same flat grade multiple times every day.

Anonymous 0 Comments

A lot (and I mean A LOT) of factors go into the safe and comfortable operation if a train.

First set of considerations are how many cars are actually loaded, how long each car is, and what type they are. This is for obvious reasons like weight, but also more obscure reasons like the amount of slack certain cars have in their knuckle and arms.

Next set of considerations are the grade of the track you’re on, the grade of the track the other parts of the train are on, and what future grades are going to be. These considerations factor in with the prior considerations, and so many are dependent on information a program wouldn’t have access to without a massive overhaul of the railcar industry, which if you know anything about rail, you’ve got a better chance of Paraguay taking over the world.

So AI trains are a no-go, because it takes a ton of dynamic abstract thought, and being a locomotive engineer is actually a pretty mentally intensive job when you’re doing more than running the same number of passenger cars across the same flat grade multiple times every day.

Anonymous 0 Comments

A lot (and I mean A LOT) of factors go into the safe and comfortable operation if a train.

First set of considerations are how many cars are actually loaded, how long each car is, and what type they are. This is for obvious reasons like weight, but also more obscure reasons like the amount of slack certain cars have in their knuckle and arms.

Next set of considerations are the grade of the track you’re on, the grade of the track the other parts of the train are on, and what future grades are going to be. These considerations factor in with the prior considerations, and so many are dependent on information a program wouldn’t have access to without a massive overhaul of the railcar industry, which if you know anything about rail, you’ve got a better chance of Paraguay taking over the world.

So AI trains are a no-go, because it takes a ton of dynamic abstract thought, and being a locomotive engineer is actually a pretty mentally intensive job when you’re doing more than running the same number of passenger cars across the same flat grade multiple times every day.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Trains aren’t just stop and go machines.

They need speed control, active braking, the judgement of what to do in an emergency.

I have a friend who is a train driver, what they do is basically override the trains preferred state, which is complete stop. They have to press the equivalent of a dead man switch every 30 seconds or so to keep the engines moving.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Trains aren’t just stop and go machines.

They need speed control, active braking, the judgement of what to do in an emergency.

I have a friend who is a train driver, what they do is basically override the trains preferred state, which is complete stop. They have to press the equivalent of a dead man switch every 30 seconds or so to keep the engines moving.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Trains aren’t just stop and go machines.

They need speed control, active braking, the judgement of what to do in an emergency.

I have a friend who is a train driver, what they do is basically override the trains preferred state, which is complete stop. They have to press the equivalent of a dead man switch every 30 seconds or so to keep the engines moving.