Train

A Train is a kind of vehicle often used for mass transit of passengers and/or cargo.

• On many worlds, they are an important part of transportation infrastructure.
• While many sophonts picture rains as a wheeled and rail technology, many other variants are possible including rubberized tires (...Land Trains), cable-pulley systems (...cable cars, funiculars, etc.), trackless trains, pressurized air systems (...Atmospheric Trains), trams, trolleys, monorails, maglev systems, and even later: the Grav Train.

Description (Specifications)

A train is a form of transport consisting of a series of connected vehicles that generally runs along a railroad track to transport cargo or passengers. The word "train" comes from the Old French trahiner, derived from the Latin trahere meaning "to pull" or "to draw."

• Because of the vast variety of transportation that exists within Charted Space, the generic term "train" is used to define two or more linked vehicles operating on a defined guideway in order to transport cargo or passengers between locations.

Trains normally require a guideway of the correct gauge and format to operate. This most commonly consists of paired parallel rails but may instead be based on a central beam, tunnel systems, pressurized tubes, cables, guide beacons or other variant systems.

Image Repository

1. Trains are an important part of transportation infrastructure on many worlds. A variety of Terran-style locomotives are depicted: other worlds and cultures produce their own unique styles of rolling stock.
   

Common Types of Transportation Networks

• Land Trains: Linked ground vehicles following a set route such as a paved highway.
• Railroad Networks: Linked vehicles following a network made up of parallel rails.
  • Monorail Systems: Linked vehicles following a network made up from a single rail.
• Maglev Networks: Linked vehicles following a network
  • Gravlev Networks: Gravitic vehicles, typically employing early lifter technology and utilizing flat, smooth prepared routes to maximize efficiency.
• Hyperloop Systems: Linked pressurized vehicles operating within vacuum tubes.
• Skytrains: Trains of linked aerial gravitic vehicles.

Technological Level

The listed technological level is the lowest at which the particular type of train may be efficiently constructed. Similar trains built at a higher technological level are more efficient, are likely to be constructed from more advanced materials, and may have an improved performance. They may also include improved items of onboard equipment such as upgraded environmental systems. Often a higher technology design exists which directly supersedes a similar but less advanced version.

Building World

Trains designed and built on a world generally only function on that one world. If they are transported to other worlds they will generally perform far below their normal parameters, often with catastrophic consequences. For example, air-breathing internal combustion power plants designed on a world with a standard atmosphere will struggle in thin atmospheres and may suffer internal damage if operated in dense atmospheres.

• Trains designed to work in higher gravity environments may have bizarre handling properties in lower gravity, and trains designed to operate in low gravity may struggle to perform at all in higher gravity environments.

Conversions

Trains designed to operate on one world may be modified to allow them perform more efficiently on other worlds.

A huge industry exists offering such conversions. Skilled mechanics change components designed to utilize atmospheric gases and upgrade or replace fuel and exhaust systems. Adjustments are made to transmission, suspension and braking systems, ballast is added or excess weight is removed, and power plants are tweaked, retuned or even entirely rebuilt. These modifications and conversions allow the train to operate relatively efficiently and safely within its new environmental conditions.

History & Background (Dossier)

Trains tend to be a pillar of transportation infrastructure for sophont societies during the TL:1-9 Foundational Period or Ur-Period of development. By TL:10-12, the technology becomes increasing supplanted and replaced by gravcraft. Grav trains are a viable technology and some societies have developed the technology viably.

Expected Train Development Sequence

MACRO LEVEL: TL:1-9:

• Network Type: Land Train → Monorail Train → Funicular Train → Subway Train → Atmospheric Train → Hover Train → Maglev Train
• Motive Power: Steam Locomotive → Cog Locomotive → Light Rail Locomotive → Internal Combustion Locomotive → Diesel Locomotive → Electric Locomotive → High Speed Locomotive

MACRO LEVEL: TL:10-18

• Gravlev Train → Hyperloop Train → Sky Train → Grav Train

Foundational Age Societies

The first trains generally run on rails, tracks, roads, or prepared transit ways.

Technological Period: TL:1-9 and Tech-Name: Ur-Tech
Common Characteristics: TBD, etc.
Tech Epoch	TL-Range	Remarks
Tool Making Epoch	TL:1-3	During the end of this period, many sophont societies develop external combustion and the first viable, high beastpower develop the first steam engines. Combined with metallurgy skills, rails and large engines can be cast, which result in continental train networks where resources are available.
Division of Labor Epoch	TL:4-6	Increasing mastery of internal combustion engines result in more powerful diesel trains including diesel locomotives which can easily make transcontinental freight runs. Intermodal cargo systems increase the reach and flexibility of cargo networks. Land trains and even hover trains on some worlds become viable. Most large bodies of waters are dominated by maritime shipping options.
Processor Epoch	TL:7-9	Electronics and electric trains become increasing more capable and superconductor and early gravitic control technology allow high speed trains and maglev movers. Lower aircraft fuel costs and competing mass transit systems begin the decrease the reach and desirability of train systems.

Interstellar Age Societies

Gravitic trains have little to no need for preprepared infrastructure.

Technological Period: TL:10-18 and Tech-Name: Stell-Tech
Common Characteristics: TBD, etc.
Tech Epoch	TL-Range	Remarks
Gravitics Epoch	TL:10-12	Mastery of gravity control technologies allow for the first grav trains, which begin to supplement earlier electro-mechanical technologies on worlds that can afford them. City Minds, AI controllers, allow city and even country-wide traffic networks, with very low accident rates.
Biologicals Epoch	TL:13-15	Fewer and fewer cities build widespread transportation infrastructure networks and the cost of gravcraft decreases. Within arcologies, people movers and internal mass transit networks are quite common. Grav trains still serve a very useful and valued place on such worlds, connecting arcologies.
Artificials Epoch	TL:16-18	No one knows where the future will go with mass transit. Some cities have posited that planetwide gravitic control networks will become possible rather than a combination of continental travel networks supplemented by air/rafts, G-carriers, and Grav Trains.

References & Contributors (Sources)

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Train. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. The text of Wikipedia is available under the Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

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This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

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• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master Scout Emeritus Adie Alegoric Stewart of the IISS
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science