In addition to shipping, A LOT of passenger rail travels over freight lines. I've been reading stories about how the Chicago-area regional rails were going to be stopped due to the strike[1], and most of Amtrak outside the Northeast Corridor[2]. It's a good thing that strike was adverted, because in addition to freight, there were going to be a lot of people stuck as well.
On the green front, I've always been intrigued by the idea of using nuclear power to propel MASSIVE Snowpiercer-esque trains around the nation in place of existing fossil fuel trains and long-haul trucking precisely for the environmental reasons you identified above. I need to do more reading into the history and feasibility, but that's where my mind wanders when we start talking about energy and rail.
RE: nuclear power for trains - it'd probably be best to just electrify the trains and use multiple reactors across the nation to power the lines, rather than directly put a reactor on a vehicle that can derail. This also allows for trains to utilize underground stations, allowing for further expansion deeper into/under cities.
The Russians have a nuclear powered ice breaker on which they carry paying civilian passengers to the North Pole. It’s not by any means “luxury” but it’s being used as a cruise ship.
As for nuclear trains, just a bad idea. A single accident would kill it forever (think Hindenburg).
That seems more likely, considering there's already a good history of nuclear-powered vessels for military use. That'd also assumedly lead to a boom in nuclear physicists/engineers, though perhaps proliferation would be a concern that does not exist while they are solely used by the military...
In addition to shipping, A LOT of passenger rail travels over freight lines. I've been reading stories about how the Chicago-area regional rails were going to be stopped due to the strike[1], and most of Amtrak outside the Northeast Corridor[2]. It's a good thing that strike was adverted, because in addition to freight, there were going to be a lot of people stuck as well.
On the green front, I've always been intrigued by the idea of using nuclear power to propel MASSIVE Snowpiercer-esque trains around the nation in place of existing fossil fuel trains and long-haul trucking precisely for the environmental reasons you identified above. I need to do more reading into the history and feasibility, but that's where my mind wanders when we start talking about energy and rail.
[1] https://wgntv.com/news/chicago-news/metra-updates-customers-on-4-line-closures-impending-rail-strike/
[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/14/business/amtrak-long-distance-trains.html
RE: nuclear power for trains - it'd probably be best to just electrify the trains and use multiple reactors across the nation to power the lines, rather than directly put a reactor on a vehicle that can derail. This also allows for trains to utilize underground stations, allowing for further expansion deeper into/under cities.
Can we at least nuclear-ize large sea-faring vessels?
Please? ;-)
The Russians have a nuclear powered ice breaker on which they carry paying civilian passengers to the North Pole. It’s not by any means “luxury” but it’s being used as a cruise ship.
As for nuclear trains, just a bad idea. A single accident would kill it forever (think Hindenburg).
They do, but that's still a state/military vessel and not a civilian-owned one.
I'm not saying never, but it does seem like whatever reactor was used would have to be nigh-impossible to use for any nuclear weapon uses. Perhaps something like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small,_sealed,_transportable,_autonomous_reactor
Civil liability is another thing though, when you consider what a non-military nuclear event could do...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_marine_propulsion#Civil_liability
That seems more likely, considering there's already a good history of nuclear-powered vessels for military use. That'd also assumedly lead to a boom in nuclear physicists/engineers, though perhaps proliferation would be a concern that does not exist while they are solely used by the military...