All language subtitles for Engineering.Evolved.S01E02.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-BurCyg_track3_[eng]

[upbeat intense music]

- [Narrator] Since the
invention of the wheel,

humans have pushed
the boundaries and
possibilities to go

faster, higher, and
deeper than ever before.

The engineering evolution of
cars, ships, planes, trains,

submersibles, and rockets
has been a monumental journey

of inspiration, innovation,
sometimes failure and success.

[people cheering]

So how did we get
to where we are now

and where are we going next?

[upbeat intense music]

[train honking]

No other form of transportation

has barreled through mountains,

plunged underwater,
and connected
continents like trains.

- Trains are crucial to
our modern day society.

They're pivotal in human
history in delivering goods,

and getting people to
where they need to go.

- [Narrator] Further
advancements in technology

and engineering promise to
continue the long legacy

of rail transportation
while transforming trains

to fit the needs of the future.

- We can literally automate
the entire train system

of the world.

- [Narrator] Before cars or
planes, trains blazed a trail

for the future of
travel and technology.

How will our ever shifting
landscape and rapidly changing

technologies shape the future
of one of the world's oldest

forms of transportation?

- At a thousand kilometers
an hour on a train,

you will be approaching
the speed of sound.

- [Narrator] From the high speed
transport of a bullet train

to slow luxury trains winding
their way through vistas,

to the hustle and
bustle of metro systems

throughout the world's cities.

It has taken centuries
of trial and error,

groundbreaking innovation,
and a desire to push past

the limits of what seems
possible to reach a point

where trains are literally
floating right off the tracks.

Soon single train
autonomous tracks

will be a thing of the past.

Metro systems will be
well-orchestrated symphonies

of multiple carriages,

each running constant safety
checks and analysis from their

own internal
intelligence systems.

The next generation of trains
coming around the bend promise

to go further, travel faster,
and reduce risk in emissions.

But to do so, engineers have
had to constantly rethink

and reimagine how
trains operate.

Going as far as to question,
if the future of rail

should involve tracks at all.

- Trains will evolve over time.

They're going to get
faster and faster.

This is a fixed system
that's really easy to control

from an engineering
point of view.

- [Narrator] All good
inventions come from the desire

to solve a problem.

In the case of rails,
it has always been

to move mass amounts
of people and things

with minimal effort.

One of the wildest train
concepts that exist today is the

TransPod FluxJet
Transportation System.

This novel idea has
the potential to be
a major innovation

in the world of high
speed train travel.

TransPod is laying
the groundwork for
their ambitious plan

to connect the Canadian cities
of Edmonton and Calgary,

using an incredible
high speed train,

traveling a thousand
kilometers an hour.

It is estimated this
300 kilometer journey

will take just 45 minutes.

- When you're reaching a
thousand kilometers an hour,

you're near the speed of sound.

- [Narrator] TransPod
does not use train tracks,

nor does it rely on a
vacuum like Hyperloop.

A concept that uses
low pressure tubes

to propel passenger pods
at near sonic speeds.

To achieve their
far reaching goal,

the TransPod system will use
moving electromagnetic fields

to propel their vehicles
using stable levitation

from the top surface.

Their space age vehicle
called the FluxJet

is super aerodynamic, like a
trackless flying bullet train,

but this ultramodern system
may still be light years away.

Initial construction
has yet to begin.

Although this
futuristic concept seems

like total science fiction,

its DNA carries the remnants
of the origins of railways.

- So if we go back
to the ancient world,

it will surprise you to know
that we did have trains.

But at that time,

trains were really where roads
had dug in specific tracks.

- And basically you could
hook your oxen to a cart,

put the cartwheels in the track

and the oxygen couldn't pull
the cart out of the track.

And you could essentially
let the oxen walk your goods

all the way to its destination.

And that's really
the idea of a train,

is we have a fixed track
system and a wheeled vehicle

that sits on that.

- Now we look at the
trends we have today

and the concept
still hasn't changed.

- [Narrator] While Oxcarts
served their purpose

in early societies,

their success kickstarted
a global demand

for goods at higher volume
and much faster pace.

One of the most innovative
and exciting times in history,

the industrial revolution,
brought the solution

everyone was waiting
for, the steam train.

- But with the invention
of the steam engine,

we suddenly were able to
harness power that we never had

access to before,

allowing us to pull much
longer and much further,

and much more powerfully
than we could before.

- 'Cause all we
need to make steam,

we need to boil water,
kettle on the stove.

We had coal stoves, so
we just thought, okay,

we'll make a big
stove in a train.

- When steam expands and
contracts, it can move objects.

And when we figure out how to
make and control that movement

in a way to spin a wheel,

we suddenly figured out
how to harness that work

that that steam is
doing to push a rotor

that would then propel
an engine forward.

- We use coal to create heat.

Heat boils water.

The water produces
high pressure steam.

The steam is allowed
to flow into a cylinder

with a piston in it.

The steam expands
pushing on the cylinder,

the cylinder's
attached to a shaft.

That shaft is connected
eccentrically to a wheel

causing the wheel to turn as
the shaft moves in and out

with the piston.

- [Narrator] The first
steam powered locomotive

hit the rails in the 1800s,

and from then on it
was full steam ahead.

This initial innovation inspired
generations of engineers

to keep pushing mechanical
and physical boundaries.

Around the same time,

a concept for what would become
the world's wildest version

of a train was also invented,
the pneumatic system.

This is the foundation
of Hyperloop.

- For those of us that are
of a particular age, well,

I'm sure we've seen
those pneumatic tubes

from either commercials
or maybe some old TV shows

where you drop in
a little cylinder

and something sucks it away.

- [Narrator] But there
were practical limitations

and safety concerns
that would see the idea

of using low pressure tubes
shelved for hundreds of years

as steam trains
and engines become

the vanguard of 17th
century technology.

- The problem with
steam trains is

that their engines
were very greedy.

And with coal, they
were very expensive

and very labor intensive.

- It would take quite a
long time for a steam engine

to even build up steam,

so you would have crews of
people working for hours

ahead of even taking a journey.

In 1912, Switzerland developed

the first diesel powered train.

This was game
changing for trains.

Previously we went from
having people having

to shovel coal into
a steam engine,

but now you could use
a contained fuel source

that was easy enough to
refill to have an engine

that was putting out a
consistent amount of power

for the duration of your trip.

- When the diesel engine
was developed for trains,

it became almost overnight
the most dominant

method of choice
to propel trains.

And even to this day,
a lot of how freight

is moved is through
diesel engines.

The reason why this
became the dominant force

is just mainly due to its
efficiency and its power output.

- Why don't we use
gasoline in trains?

Why do we use diesel?

It's a simple,
accessible heavy fuel,

easily transportable,
very stable,

doesn't burn up like gasoline.

It's a slow mover because
it's compression engine,

it doesn't spark, in gasoline
you have a spark every time,

you got a power,
bam, bam, bang, bang.

It's good power.

Diesel develops power through
time, so it starts slow,

it pulls it, and it has
far more energy output.

So for volume of diesel
burnt, I can pull more.

- Yeah, so diesel
technology definitely

made train transportation,
much more efficient,

longer distances,
lower fuel costs,

and higher speeds
all coupled together.

- [Narrator] Diesel engines
are a step up from steam,

but they still wreak
havoc on the environment

and max out at a top speed
of 238 kilometers per hour.

That's nothing compared to
some trains out there today.

Inventors and engineers look
to an avant-garde power source

to push trains to
speeds and distances

that were once
unimaginable, electricity.

- While electric train
vehicles sound relatively new,

they've actually been around
way longer than we think.

In fact, the first
electric train

predates the first diesel train.

In 1837, Robert
Davidson invented the
first galvanic cell.

The problem with this battery is

that it was incredibly heavy
and had a limited range.

- When we go back and look
at the first electric trains,

there wasn't the
electrical infrastructure

that we have today
to support them.

And batteries pose
a few problems.

They don't hold a lot of charge.

We can't get a lot of
power in a small area,

and they're also really heavy.

The earliest batteries
were lead acid, again,

a very heavy material.

So the first electric
trains that ran on batteries

were limited to
very short distances

and didn't have a
lot of capability.

- [Narrator] Batteries nowadays
have made massive strides

from the galvanic cell.

2021 saw a major push
for companies to explore

and test battery
powered train systems

after a dramatic decline in
battery prices made the tech

much more appealing.

- You can imagine a scenario
now as batteries have advanced,

going back to some of
the original concepts

of using batteries
to electrify trains,

and this would really help
cut down on emissions.

For the train industry

we've moved away from
lead acid batteries,

which were very big and
took a long time to charge,

and now the industry standard

is sort of a
lithium ion battery,

which is pretty common in
most electrified transport,

and it's lighter, smaller,

and offers a much
faster charge up.

- N700S bullet train
in Japan in 2020

was one of the first
examples of using

the lithium ion
batteries in the trains.

So it was used as a
fail safe system in case

the power was not available,

then the train could
switch to the battery.

- [Narrator] Early
battery technology

could not hold enough power
to move locomotives fast,

far, or very long.

Innovation in battery power
and charging technology

are working to get batteries
to the point where they can.

To keep these electric trains
powered up on the rails,

new ideas around charging
stations are emerging.

- You could imagine
something like battery swaps

or you could have dedicated
fast charging stations.

You could do things like
regenerative braking.

- Especially in cargo
trains, we have a huge mass.

We have thousands and thousands
of tons of mass moving.

This mass has a huge
amount of kinetic energy

associated with it.

When we use conventional brakes,

we actually convert all that
kinetic energy into heat

and simply waste it.

So with regenerative braking,

what we actually do is we put
generators on our locomotives

or in our rail cars and
we instead of wasting

that energy as heat,
we convert it back

into electrical energy
and recharge batteries.

So part of electrifying
trains with batteries

is using regenerated
braking systems,

which helps save
some of that energy,

which otherwise would
be wasted as heat.

- [Narrator] But
batteries do not come

without their own challenges.

Mining the materials needed
for modern battery technology

has serious
environmental impacts.

We need to continue to
develop mining techniques

that are environmentally
friendly,

but there may be limits to
how sustainable mining can be,

but for trains, there might
be an even greener alternative

that doesn't use
batteries at all.

- Another potential future
for a greener train system

would be to not use batteries,

but to instead use a
hydrogen fuel cell.

In concept, a hydrogen fuel
cell is going to be much cleaner

because we actually get
the hydrogen from water

and then after the chemical
reaction that allows propulsion,

the byproducts are not some
kind of carbon emission,

but instead water vapor
that just reenters the air.

Hydrogen fuel cells are
also much more efficient

than a lithium
ion cell would be.

The more we can
electrify systems

or rely on things like
cleaner technologies

like hydrogen fuel cells, the
greener the industry can be.

- [Narrator] In September, 2022,

the world's first hydrogen fuel
cell powered passenger train

traveled a record
breaking 1,175 kilometers

across Germany
without refueling.

Making barely any noise and
creating zero emissions,

this success is paving
the way for greener trains

to own the future.

In June, 2023, the Coradia
iLint train made its debut

in Quebec, Canada, the
first hydrogen powered train

in North America.

Boasting a top speed of
140 kilometers per hour,

its acceleration and
braking are comparable

to a standard diesel train.

Only 1% of North American
rails are electrified,

but this environmentally
friendly vehicle

doesn't require
electrified rails,

which could make it
the perfect choice

for a greener way forward.

It took over 100 years for
battery technology to develop

enough to power trains,
but in the late 1800s,

innovators sought new ways
of achieving connectivity

on the rails.

- In 1879, Werner Von Siemens

developed an electric
locomotive that actually drew

its power from the
rails that it was on

rather than from batteries
stored in the train.

The whole system worked by
having looped copper wire

placed on the rails
of the track itself

and then the train
would roll over this

and actually conduct
electricity through the wire.

This was a really
big development

and it worked very well
to power the trains,

but it presented a
huge safety issue

that now you were working
with a train track

that was lying on the
ground that was electrified

and could harm people
who walked over it.

- Once we start getting a
large scale electrical system

around the world,
we start realizing

that we can power
trains with electricity.

We can use electric motors and
use some type of conductors

around the tracks to provide
the power to move the trains.

This is ideal.

We don't have to carry the
weight of the diesel engine,

we don't have to carry
the weight of the fuel.

It can be done with much
cleaner power sources

like hydroelectric
power and it can be done

with more efficient
energy generation means.

So there's a lot of desire

to produce electrification
of rail systems.

- About 30% of modern trains
today are electrified.

That represents about 375,000
kilometers of train track.

- You have to be able to
conduct the electricity

into the train itself
to power the motors.

That's not that easy to do.

If you electrify the
rails themselves,

steel rails aren't
that conductive.

You lose a lot of power.

On top of that, if anything
bridges between the two rails,

say a person, they
get electrocuted.

So you either have to use
some type of external system

either above or below the train.

- [Narrator] After the invention
of the electric powertrain,

three cutting edge contact
systems were developed

that are still being used to
power electric trains today.

- Modern rail systems
either use a third

or a third and fourth
rail below the train

or an overhead wire system.

- [Narrator] As overhead
wires become common in cities,

it was an obvious
choice for innovators

to utilize them to power trains.

- Trains use a device
called a pantograph,

which is attached to the train

and outstretches toward the
catenary or the overhead lines.

And when these two
things connect,

that actually completes
the electric circuit

that allows the train
to derive its power

from the overhead lines.

- And that wire system
actually doesn't run parallel

to the tracks, it
actually zigzags.

- You could imagine
that if the lines

were perfectly
straight and constant,

that means that the
pantograph system is always

on the same contact
with the power lines.

After a while, just
through wear and tear,

you could foresee the
power lines breaking apart

and causing some sort of
catastrophic behavior.

And so having the
system kind of broken up

in these exact shapes is
a way of trying to prevent

or the very least
delay a process like
that from occurring.

- [Narrator] The famed
Albula Line in Switzerland

is a stunning example of
how overhead power systems

can work in extreme
environments.

Borrowing concepts
from electric cars,

a sustainable energy system
allows this 1.9 kilometer train

to travel 25 kilometers

through the spectacular
Alpine landscape.

As its breaks are applied
during the dramatic descent,

a regenerative energy
recovery system kicks in,

feeding electricity back to
the overhead power lines.

- If you're not using
an overhead wire,

the most common system then
becomes the third rail.

- [Narrator] Third
rails are used

in underground subway systems

where trains are operating
in confined spaces.

- [Robert] Basically this
is a system of conductors

that's located either under the
tracks or beside the tracks.

- [Narrator] A pneumatic
shoe attached to the train

makes contact with
the third rail

to complete the power circuit.

To prevent people from making
contact with the live line,

a protective cover is
used on the third rail

and in some high traffic areas,

the third rail may
be removed completely

for a portion of the track.

In this case, the train runs
on its existing momentum

and reconnects to the third
rail further down the track.

Even though the third rail
is safe for the public,

in underground systems,
we sometimes need

an additional safety
element, the fourth rail.

- One of the problems
with electricity

is we can get straight current.

In underground systems
that can be a big problem.

What happens is if we
don't have a good ground

to dissipate our electricity,

that electricity can build up

on metallic objects in
and around the subway,

and that's a big problem when
you have steel lined tunnels

or iron line tunnels.

Because steel and
iron can corrode,

when we apply a current to it

we can actually rapidly
accelerate the corrosion

and cause failure of
the steel line tunnel.

For this reason, in
specific applications

we use a fourth rail.

In the London underground
we need a fourth rail

because many of the
tunnels are very old

and lined with cast iron.

We use the fourth
rail to conduct away
any stray currents so

that we don't get corrosion
happening on our tunnel lining.

- [Narrator] An
additional benefit of
the fourth rail system

is that isolated currents
allow a train's position

to be detected.

Train detection is a critical
element of signaling systems,

which are essential for
railways to operate.

Knowing the location of a
train can be life or death

for both passengers and
train maintenance workers,

especially in
underground tunnels.

The London underground can
reach 80 kilometers per hour,

which is impressive, but
it's not nearly the limit

for ultramodern electric trains.

- After World War II,

Japan sought to
alleviate congestion

by developing the world's
first very high-speed train.

They developed the Tokyo to
Osaka Shinkansen bullet train.

When it opened in 1968,

the train could reach
210 kilometers per hour,

and it did this by incorporating

what were sort of the
modern choppings of the day,

continuously welded rail design,

streamlined shape,
and electrified rails.

But today we're able

to reach speeds of 310
kilometers per hour.

- [Narrator] The rapid evolution
of railway transportation

pushed trains beyond
their capabilities.

To outpace trains in the past,

new innovations in engines,
shape, wheels, and rails

were a major necessity.

- High-speed rail
is really something

that's become important.

It really helps us move people

around continents
relatively quickly.

To have high-speed rail,
we need welded rails.

- By using continuously
welded rails,

we could do away with
unwanted points of friction.

- So when you're rolling
along a continuous rail,

there's really nothing stopping
you from rolling further.

But now imagine you have this
rail broken up into sections

and they all flex
just a little bit.

As you approach one
of those sections,

if the other section is
maybe a little bit higher,

now you've got used energy
to climb that little step

and that energy has
to come from somewhere

and it comes from the energy

that you're using to
roll the train along.

So if we can get rid of
all those little steps,

all that extra energy goes
directly into powering the train

and making it go faster.

The continuous rail also
adds a factor of safety.

You're moving along at a high
speed and if you can eliminate

any vibrations or
motions of that train

that could at worst derail it,

you've gone towards making
that train much safer

for the occupants inside.

- [Narrator] But even with
continuous rails in operation,

operators have to ensure that
the present railway systems

remain as safe as possible.

MXV Rail in the United States

is applying cutting edge
technology from other industries

to train tracks
across the country.

Electromagnetic field imaging
or EMFI was first used in

the oil and gas sector
to monitor corrosion.

Recent trials indicate
that EMFI technology

is able to determine the
surface condition of the track,

giving rail employees
valuable information

about when track
maintenance is needed.

This awesome discovery
could seriously reduce

the amount of worldwide
rail accidents,

since this tech allows
rail infrastructure

to be monitored more thoroughly.

When trains are carrying
passengers or cargo,

well-maintained tracks
are absolutely essential.

However, what's been
traveling on these tracks

has seen immense
change down the ages.

As new systems come online,

engineers have had to rethink
the very shape of a train.

- Trains needed to
become more aerodynamic

and that made the switch
from more bulky trains

to more streamlined
design trains.

- Early trains weren't
shaped like bullets.

They were flat in the front

and they would displace a bunch
of air as they moved along.

But because the drag force
is exponentially proportional

to the velocity, as
we increased velocity,

the drag forces became
exponentially higher.

So while they didn't
matter for the steam trains

that went relatively slowly,

when we wanted to
increase our speed,

we suddenly had to take those
drag forces into account

and we had to shape
those trains in a way

to limit those forces
as much as possible.

- [Robert] So you see a
lot of high speed trains

being called bullet
trains because they
really have a shape,

especially in the front that
makes them look like a bullet.

- A lot of that work was done
early on by trial and error.

So that would involve
both making prototypes,

but also making scale models

and testing them in wind
tunnels, for example,

where you can actually
mimic the conditions

that you see under
operating conditions.

But more and more these days,

of course we use computer models
and there's much less need

for wind tunnels to be
part of that thinking,

although at the end of the
day still use wind tunnels

to be able to test out

and make sure the models
are operating correctly.

- [Narrator] With less
drag holding trains back

the speed of trains
rapidly increased,

getting commuters and passengers

to their destinations
in record time.

- Where we primarily
see high speed trains

being used is between areas

of relatively high
population density.

So we have big cities that are
in relatively close proximity

that we can build really
direct train tracks in between.

With high-speed trains, you
really can't be going over

other tracks or stopping
for level crossings.

These have to be very
highly engineered systems.

So they're used primarily
in places in Asia

where you have very high
population densities,

Japan and China.

In certain parts
of Europe, again,

where you have very high
population densities.

They don't translate
well to North America

because we have much
larger distances

between our major
population centers.

- We don't have the
means or the economics

or the drive to lay down tracks

that can take these
high speed rails,

which are significant
economic capital cost.

- Right off the get go,
the Japanese decided

to develop dedicated
lines for the Shinkansen.

So they were separate from not

just the freight railway line,

but also the conventional
passenger railway line.

In contrast to what
happened in Europe,

that separate line
covers the entire system,

so right into the stations.

That means you can operate
these speeds at high speed

until very close to the stations

and then just break
as you're coming

into the individual stations.

- [Narrator] With trains
reaching high speeds,

they provide an
excellent alternative

to other methods of
traveling between cities.

- If you're looking to take
a couple of hour flight,

then trains become
very competitive

as a form of transportation.

The plane will ultimately fly

faster than the
train can travel,

but aviation comes with
a series of obstacles

that you have to encounter
before and after the flight,

whereas trains have
made this much easier.

- Trains take you right
into the middle of the city,

planes deposit you
somewhere outside the city

and you've got to
find your way in.

So that adds additional
cost and time and so on.

So trains can often be,
even if the actual length

of the train trip
is a bit longer,

trains can be more
efficient than planes.

- [Narrator] Before a train
can pick up passengers

and hit the rails,

all the moving parts
must be in perfect shape

and one of the most
critical elements

is the wheels.

Using high-tech machines,
highly specialized workers

create different sized wheels

to attach to
locomotives and wagons.

Wheels must pass
through inspections

before moving on
to the next stage.

Once the initial
manufacturing process is done,

wheels are put
through lathe machines

to ensure a smooth
ride across the tracks.

Lathes aren't only used
on brand new train wheels,

they also recut damaged wheels

that have been worn
down or compromised.

But when it comes to
travel in the train world,

a new type of train that does
away with wheels completely

has sparked major excitement.

- Railway innovation
has come so far

and there's so many
new exciting designs,

and one of them is the maglev.

This is where the
train levitates above
the railway track.

It's something out of a
science fiction movie.

- The maglev train, which
stands for magnetic levitation,

is actually replacing
the wheels of the train.

So the train isn't
sitting on tracks,

but rather using electromagnets.

It is levitating
above the track.

This essentially
cuts out all friction

and a tremendous amount
of rotating parts,

and it allows the train
to travel much faster

than a wheeled train ever could.

- [Narrator] As
innovative and new

as this technology may seem,

the first patented train system

to use magnetic levitation
dates back to 1937.

In the 1890s, French engineer
and inventor Emile Bachelet

began working on a
system that harnesses

the power of magnetic forces

for the use of electromagnetics.

- If you consider two magnets,

if you put the magnets
in the same direction

like N pole opposite
to the N pole,

they would be a repulsive force

that somehow floats
the other magnet.

- So, we put electromagnets
inside of the rail

and inside of the train,

make those two repel
from one another

and we can levitate that
train on a very long track.

- [Narrator] Maglev trains
don't just use the magnets

to levitate above the tracks.

They also use magnets to
turn the tracks into a motor,

pulling the train forward.

- You're not relying
on the wheel turning

to be able to move
the trainer forward.

- Within a motor, basically,

we're attracting and repelling
the north and south poles

attached to a shaft to
cause rotary motion.

If we take that
and flatten it out,

we can actually
make a linear motor.

So we actually have north
and south pole electromagnets

buried in the track,

and as the train moves
these poles push the train

along the track and
give it its speed.

- [Narrator] One
magnetic field is used

to levitate the carrier

while the other is
used to make it move.

- The magnets, which
cause this levitation,

are superconductor materials.

- The concept of
superconductivity is a material

that has virtually no resistance
to conducting electricity,

and we can harness that property

to produce very powerful
magnetic fields.

Unfortunately, most of the
materials that are available

to us today that have
that property only have

that property at very,
very cold temperatures.

So we first have to cool
those down to those very cold,

cryogenic temperatures before

that material actually starts
acting like a superconductor.

That same material at room
temperature does nothing,

but suddenly you cool
that material down

to what its transition
temperature is,

towards being a
superconductor, and suddenly

that material loses any
resistance to electric current

and can now become a very
good magnetic levitator.

- [Narrator] Liquid helium is
used in maglev trains to cool

superconductive materials to

within 30 degrees
of absolute zero.

The theoretical lowest
temperature possible

where all vibration stops
and no heat is generated.

- That's a technology
which didn't exist

until 30 or so years ago,

and the development of that
technology is still developing.

- The more interesting thing

with superconducting
materials though,

is to be able to get that same
behavior at room temperature

because if we could save the
energy to cool these things

and we could still
access these properties,

it will revolutionize not
just how trains are moved,

but where else we could
actually employ some

of these materials and their
superconducting capacity.

- [Narrator] Maglev trains
in the Chinese city Shanghai

use electromagnetic suspension

to stay levitated off the track.

Electromagnetic suspension
uses the attractive force

between magnets located beneath
the train, on its sides,

and on the guideway.

The train levitates
above a steel rail

while electromagnets
attached to the train

are oriented toward
the rail from below.

Electromagnets use feedback
control to maintain the train

at a constant distance
from the track.

maglevs eliminate a
key source of friction.

There are no up and down jolts,

which you get when you
have wheels on steel.

- What are suspension's doing?

It's basically
you're pushing down

and you go on a bump, right?

You're going to bump, and
what your suspension does

is cancels the energy that
is created by these bumps

and nonconformities
in your path.

So for it to keep you suspended,

there needs to be a force
that is balancing it off.

So balance force can come
from electromagnetic,

which is a current passing
through a wire and a magnet,

and it keeps you floating.

- [Narrator] Newer maglev
trains have been developed

using powerful
electrodynamic suspension,

which allows for the train
to stay higher off the track

and travel faster.

- Maglev is is
definitely a game,

I think it's just a
precursor to massive things

coming in the train
sector, especially.

- [Narrator] The Shanghai maglev

goes 430 kilometers an hour,

twice as fast as a
conventional commuter train.

It holds the title of fastest
operating train in the world.

At full speed, from
Pudong Airport to
Longyang Road Station,

it takes seven
minutes and 20 seconds

to complete the 30
kilometer journey.

While maglev technology
is exciting and promising,

very few are currently
operating around the world.

Many countries suspect
they won't be adopting

this new technology for decades.

One of the biggest deterrents

with maglev trains
is profitability.

It is incredibly
expensive to build,

costing several times more

than any conventional rail.

Passenger trains are
notorious for operating

at a loss worldwide,

which makes investing in
brand new infrastructure

and rail vehicles
extremely unattractive.

Currently, maglevs
are less than ideal

for cargo transportation due
to the huge amount of energy

needed to move heavy loads.

Another major issue
is scheduling.

Having freight trains
share maglev infrastructure

with passenger routes is
a logistical nightmare.

Transporting heavier loads
with maglev technology

will most likely require a
complete redesign of the system.

One company is heralding
their cutting edge technology

as a superior option
to maglev trains.

The Canadian TransPod
transportation system promises

to use their infrastructure
for both passengers and cargo

in their Edmonton
to Calgary corridor.

In hours where passenger
demand is high,

the line will be full
of commuter vehicles.

During off hours cargo
shipments will make use

of the infrastructure.

The goal is to keep
the line running close

to maximum capacity
at all hours,

driving profits in a way that
passenger only systems can't.

A seamless connection to
an international airport

is the key to making
this goal a reality.

In Edmonton, cargo
shipments will arrive

at the Edmonton airport
station by plane

before being loaded
up and shipped out

on this ultra high speed system.

Transpod is hoping a success
in Alberta will make this

futuristic transportation viable

in even higher density
areas like Toronto,

but not everyone and everything

is comfortable traveling
at such high speeds.

Both the maglev system
and the Transpod system

are forced to contend
with the public perception

around maglev trains.

While impressive, many fear
the dangers of reaching

such high speeds.

- In some controlled testing,

we know that the
maglev train is able

to reach speeds of 500
kilometers per hour.

But in actual use
cases with passengers,

they're capped at about
430 kilometers per hour.

- [Narrator] In 2021,
China set the bar

even higher revealing

that their latest
maglev train is capable

of a top speed of 600
kilometers an hour.

Though it is not
yet operational,

the leader in maglev technology
is also said to be testing

something called a
Super Maglev train.

- They're trying to achieve
speeds a thousand kilometers

an hour or potentially more.

To put this in perspective,

the speed of sound
and air is roughly

about 1200 kilometers an hour.

Digest that for a minute,

that at a thousand kilometers
an hour on a train,

you will be approaching
the speed of sound.

- At some point, mach
speeds shall be reached

by trains as well.

There's nothing stopping it.

If we can reach it in air,
we can reach it in trains

because we will be
still be in air.

I mean, just that we
are not that high,

which is little high, but
just still moving through air.

- However, there's a lot
of ethical concerns around

whether this is actually safe.

The slightest mistake
at any of these speeds

would be absolutely
catastrophic.

Major changes like the maglev
and its increase in speed

similar to something like
autonomous self-driving cars.

These are huge paradigm
shifts in transportation

and they warrant
real public scrutiny.

The battle to actually
win over the public

so that these
technologies get adopted

is a very big challenge

for the makers of these
pieces of transportation.

- [Narrator] With
trains accelerating

at nearly unimaginable speeds,

adding new safety features
became a critical focus,

and autonomous technology was
seen as the ideal solution.

- I think what's remarkable is

that the first development
of these high-speed trains

was in a country that is
susceptible to earthquakes

and they made that technology
work safely despite the fact

that they do routinely
have earthquakes in Japan

and it's not been a problem.

I mean, the safety record
for high-speed rail

is incredibly good.

The ability of the
trains, for example,

in the Shinkansen network
to talk to each other.

I know where the other
trains are is really critical

because the trains are
often quite close together.

So it's a very safe technology.

- When we think about
implementing autonomous vehicles

and autonomous
vehicle technology,

trains are really a
perfect candidate.

The great thing about
tracks is that there

are very few things that you
can possibly interact with

or crash into.

It's still possible,

it still requires a
lot of testing and a
lot of examination,

but trains make for the
perfect test candidates

for autonomous vehicles.

- [Announcer] Look no engineer,

a successful run
by remote control.

- When we talk about
autonomous vehicles in general,

we need to teach the vehicle
to learn about the path

and predict the action it needs

to take to control the vehicle,

stop it when
necessary, take speed,

or do whatever is
required for the trains.

If animal, a person, an object,
someone comes to the road,

then the train should be
able to detect the object

and break ahead of time to
prevent any type of injury.

At the same time, calculate
the correct acceleration

to make sure the passengers in
the train are also protected.

So some of these autonomy is
regarding the image processing

and using the velocity sensors

and other types of sensors
to achieve this goal.

- [Narrator] Automatic
train operation or ATO

describes any technology
used to automate

the operation of trains.

This includes small
features such as signals

that were once performed
by the rail staff.

- So there are less degrees
of freedom for a train than,

for example, a car.

A train is sort of
bound to the track

and to the environment
around that track,

and people generally
stay off the track

and if they have to do repairs,

there are procedures
in place to make sure

that everyone knows that
these repairs are happening.

But as you're driving
around on the road,

people walk on roads, people
who do construction on roads,

there's a lot of variables

that vehicle automated
systems have to factor in

that wouldn't
necessarily be a problem

for a train automated
systems to consider.

So the the train automation
problem is probably the problem

that we'll fix first.

- When we think about
more common cases

of semi-autonomous trains
that we have today,

the features that are
being controlled often

relate to speed and
the braking systems,

we don't think of it as taking
away any of the complexity

of the human job,

but rather it takes some of
the more crucial elements

and removes the error
that could be associated

with human decision making.

So an automated system
is perfectly capable

of determining how
fast it is going

and how fast it should be going.

- Human error tends
to play a major role

in train derailments.

For example, if a
train is going too fast

for a certain curve, all of
a sudden it won't be able

to navigate that curve
and its momentum will want

to keep it going forward,

and that'll cause
the train to derail.

If we can automate
these decisions

that humans are
currently making,

we can definitely
increase the speed

and safety of these trains.

- And so whenever we
talk about autonomy,

I think one of the
things that everyone

has in the back of their mind,

but perhaps doesn't
say explicitly,

is that we are trying
to remove human error.

Unlike a human being,

a machine isn't going
to get distracted

or isn't going to fall
asleep at the wheel

or anything like that.

And so autonomy is
always fantastic.

- [Narrator] Autonomous
systems are only as good

as the information
they're programmed with.

The more details about the
objects and people in its feed,

the more accurately
it will work.

- Making automated train systems

has become relatively common.

We see these all the time in
airports around the world.

We see it in subways because
it's a closed system.

Even in larger train
systems, this is feasible.

We can put geolocators on
trains, we can monitor switches,

we can monitor tracks,
we can monitor speeds.

We can literally automate

the entire train
system of the world.

So that's a likely outcome in
the long run around the world

is that trains will become
more and more automated.

- [Narrator] As rail networks
move towards total automation,

there are four different
classifications ranging

from some automation to
totally driverless trains.

- When we talk
about autonomously
controlled vehicles,

there are sort of four levels
that we classify them as.

The first level, we have
a few different functions

that are being automated,
braking, speeds,
things like that.

In the case of a level four,

this is a completely autonomous,

not controlled by
a human scenario.

In the world today, we actually
have a few cases of this

where some trains are performing
their trips completely

separate from
human intervention.

- [Narrator] Autonomous
trains now operate

in over 40 cities,
including Copenhagen, Paris,

Singapore, Dubai, and London.

- Autonomous train systems
are actually very reliable

because you have the
entire infrastructure

of the train being
connected by the track.

So not only like other
autonomous vehicles,

we've got camera systems
and we've got sensors

on a particular car.

You can actually know what is
going to happen because you

are connected to any other cars

that are on the same
track that you're on.

This gives an autonomous train
even more data than any other

form of autonomous
transportation.

- [Narrator] Trains
that can see, think,

and decide for themselves
are well on their way

to becoming a reality.

It's not just the technology
itself that's exciting.

It's also the enormous
potential of autonomous systems

that are transforming
the way railways are run.

The next major leap
in public transit

and train schedules
is happening now.

In 2020 the stakes
got even higher when

the world's first driverless
bullet train entered

into service in China.

To ensure this amazing
achievement is safe for riders,

this train is run on a dedicated
high-speed rail network

spanning nearly
35,000 kilometers.

- I mean, high-speed rail
is largely autonomous,

but we always like to have
humans there to make sure

that things operate properly.

The same goes for planes.

I mean, autopilots on planes
largely take the plane

from one place to the other
without the pilot being all

that involved in that.

But you always wanna
have a pilot on board

when things go wrong.

I think it will be a
while before people

are comfortable with a
full level of automation,

but I've been on
subway trains in Europe

that have no operators,

and I suspect that high
speed rail could be one

of those places where
at some point we do

without the train
operator entirely

and the whole train
is operated remotely.

- Some of the limitations
that we have right now

is we cannot have multiple
trains operating very near

to each other on the same track

because we have to maintain
the safety distances.

But having a fully automated
train which provides

or guarantees a
crash free operation,

we can have much more
trains using the same track.

- [Narrator] Automation
in passenger trains

is steadily increasing,

but freight trains
have remained resistant

offering unique challenges.

- There's an interesting
trend that seems kind of

counterintuitive to other
forms of transportation,

where with trains
we've been able

to embrace automated
passenger trains,

whereas automated passenger
solutions for other industries

isn't quite there yet.

On the other side,
we've automated

the transportation
system in shipping,

for example, but we haven't
done that yet in trains.

So a lot of the cargo
handling of trains

is still very manual.

It's still being
controlled by people.

The actual propulsion systems

are still relying
heavily on fossil fuels.

They're not electrified tracks.

It's much more common
for older technology

to be used for something
very high value,

which is the
transportation of goods.

- Cargo trains are a
little bit different

than passenger trains.

The problem with cargo
trains is we really

don't always have a good
idea of how much mass

is on our train,

so we don't know how long
we have to start breaking

before getting to a corner
or coming to a stop.

It's a very different situation.

So there's a lot more automation
and a lot more controls

that need to go into
freight trains to make sure

that they can
operate autonomously.

However, this is
starting to happen.

- [Narrator] In Australia,
the mining company,

Rio Tinto now has a fully
automated train that brings

materials from a
remote site to a port

where it can be unloaded.

- The system this train used
was called the AutoHaul,

and it was a series
of cameras and sensors

that were continuously
monitoring the train as it went.

There were no actual
humans on board,

and all the monitoring
was being done

from a central location
1400 kilometers away.

- So we are starting
to see the automation

of freight trains.

We're starting to
understand what systems need

to be in place and
automation of train systems

is really something that is
going to happen going forward.

- [Narrator] Even though the
AutoHaul system is autonomous,

the train still relies on
fossil fuels to power it.

Throughout the world,

there still are many
rail networks resistant

to full electrification.

- Shipping industries
face major costs

and delays when switching
from diesel to electric.

Today, transport
accounts for a one fifth

of the global CO2 emissions.

- There's a lot of different
reasons to stick with

diesel trains over
electrification.

Electrification has a
huge capital upfront cost.

The other problem with
electrification is

if the power goes out, your
trains don't go anywhere.

In big systems with
long distances,

it's really hard to electrify.

In smaller systems,
closer proximity,

it's easier to electrify.

- Transforming from a
diesel engine to a maglev

for a passenger
train was massive,

and there was a need for it
because we can save time,

we can spend more time
with our families,

more time with
what we love to do

rather than what we worked.

Do we need goods to move faster

at this point
across the country?

The answer is we don't
need to move faster

because you can run many more
products at the same time,

and if it takes
one week to arrive,

then send one every
day, load it every day.

So trains were basically made
to move goods from a port.

So going to a ship and
ships the slowest of all.

So I really don't need
to go supersonic speeds

to go to a ship,

which is going to take this
in the next three months

to my destination.

- [Narrator] While freight
trains are slow to electrify,

some rail systems might bypass

the whole electrification
process altogether.

A controversial yet intriguing
new train design promises

massive increases in speed
without any rails at all.

The Hyperloop is arguably
the most ambitious and talked

about concept for a
train of our time.

The idea was propelled into
this century by visionary,

entrepreneur and innovator,
Elon Musk in 2013,

sparking global excitement.

- So, one of the biggest
benefits of the Hyperloop

is it eliminates drag.

The Hyperloop chamber, if
you will, is void of air.

It's a near vacuum.

So as that train is hurling

through the track at
neck breaking speeds,

it doesn't have to deal
with or put up with all

that nasty drag it would
have on it otherwise,

When you think of moving
an object through space,

that object is encountering
a lot of forces

that are preventing
it from moving.

So whether it's the
friction on the track,

which we can eliminate
by having it levitate,

or whether it's the
drag by it physically

hitting air molecules
as it's moving

and you're trying to move
those molecules outta the way

in a more energy favorable way,

it's encountering
all these things

that are preventing
it from moving fast.

So if we can get rid
of all those things,

all those barriers,

then we can make that
train go extremely fast.

If we can have it levitate

and go through a large
tube that's void of air,

all of a sudden we've reduced
or eliminated the friction

between train wheels and
the rolling resistance,

and we've also eliminated
the actual drag

that it would otherwise see
from being exposed to air.

- Ideally, the proper
shape for anything

that's going into a
pneumatic type tube would be

almost a cylindrical type
shape that has curved ends.

The idea behind that is the
cylindrical type shape fits

very well within the actual
cylinder of the tube,

and then the rounded ends
reduces the resistance

as it moves through the tube.

When the concept of the
Hyperloop was introduced,

it was argued that use of
this method of transportation

would be able to get you
from San Francisco to LA

in a matter of 30 minutes.

Just to put that into
context, right now,

if you were to get in your car
and you live in San Francisco

and you want to drive to LA
and the absence of traffic,

that will take you about
six and a half hours.

- [Narrator] One of the
biggest engineering challenges

facing Hyperloop is
that once a near vacuum

is created inside the tube,
the pressure inside the tube

becomes significantly lower
than the pressure outside.

This creates a
challenging situation

for the structure of the tube,

as it must withstand the
external atmospheric pressure

pushing inwards
while also dealing

with the low pressure
conditions inside the tube.

Most materials we currently have

are not strong enough to
hold the exterior atmosphere,

which is weighing them down,

and yet in small scale models,

some teams have successfully
dealt with the problem.

In 2021, Swisspod
unveiled LIMITLESS

Europe's first operational
Hyperloop test track

in Lausanne, Switzerland.

This reduced scale facility
is a vital platform

for experimenting
with new technologies.

Its circular form simulates

an infinite
Hyperloop test track,

allowing the Swisspod
team to evaluate

the system's performance
over long distances.

Hyperloop technology is also

being explored in
neighboring Germany.

Team TUM from the technical
University of Munich

is a repeat winner

of Elon Musk's SpaceX
Hyperloop Pod competition.

In September, 2020, TUM
initiated the construction

of a groundbreaking 24
meter long test segment

marking a significant milestone

in Europe's Hyperloop
development.

The ultimate goal is to create

a fully functional
European Hyperloop track

to revolutionize travel
across the continent

from hours to minutes.

- The other challenge
of the Hyperloop

is the energy required
to void it of air.

We don't think about it,

but air has mass and we
have to move that mass

from within the tube to
somewhere outside of the tube,

so we have to push it out,
and that requires energy.

- [Narrator] There are hopes

that the ultimate
high-tech train

will be ready for use by 2050.

As the technology
continues to evolve.

- All these things are
carrying human beings.

The health and safety of
these are super paramount.

If a car takes about 10 to 12
years from a stage of, okay,

I want this car be made like
this, according to the drawing,

to actually making
a car prototype.

A plane takes about 20 years.

Maglev took a long time.

It didn't happen yesterday.

A concept like Hyperloop, which
has just been on the paper,

I'm sure it's going
to take 25, 30 years

for you to go sit in and travel.

We need to take the time to
make sure it's done right.

It's done here to stay,

and it's done
sustainably with thought.

- [Narrator] With each
technological stride,

the horizon of train
travel expands,

igniting the imagination
of visionary inventors.

- So it'll be a
future that makes us

even more interconnected
than we currently are.

- [Narrator] Taking
us on a journey

where trains seamlessly
weave together

the fabric of our planet,

a new era of global
connectivity,

as rail systems become the
catalyst for a world more

intertwined than ever imagined.

[empowering music]

[empowering music]