With Amtrak continuing to hobble along on less-than-generous funding, the present moment may not feel like a “renaissance” for the railroad in the U.S.. But that’s how it looks in much of the world. Countries like China have been investing heavily in trains (including 300 mph Maglevs ), and all signs point to the trend continuing. With 9 billion people expected on the planet by 2050–and the majority of us living in cities–there’s bound to be a need for efficient, environmentally sensitive transit that doesn’t use up too much space.

How might train travel evolve? That’s the subject of a new report from Arup, the multinational engineering consultancy. Here are a few of their more interesting ideas, all of which are based on current projects.





Autonomous cars may still be a few years away, but driverless trains are already here. Copenhagen, Paris, Singapore, Dubai, and São Paulo all have them. Rio Tinto, the mining company, is rolling out a driverless freight network in Western Australia. Automation isn’t good for employment, of course, though there are benefits. Arup points to the possibility of reducing CO2 emissions, raising energy efficiency, and improving reliability.

Transporting freight by road causes congestion and pollution, particularly in cities. One possible solution: underground pipelines that shuttle packages in electrified pods. A group at Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, is working on one version of the concept called CargoCap. A similar idea has also been proposed to bring containers to and from ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Airports have become more and more like self-contained cities–destinations in their own right. Arup expects something similar to happen with rail stations. “Rail stations will become destinations and lifestyle centers that further blend our commute with our lives,” it says. “People are increasingly using stations not just as places to catch a train, but as centers for leisure and business.” (They must never have been in New York City’s Penn Station).

While much of the future of rail will be powered by electricity, several groups are working hydrogen-powered alternatives. A team at the University of Birmingham built one prototype locomotive in 2012. “The fuel cell is used both to power the permanent magnet electric motors and to charge the batteries,” the report explains. A university team in Chengdu, China, is working on something similar.

Flickr user Eldelinux

Busy stations could be ideal places to harness energy from human foot traffic. Trial projects are already underway in Russia and France. “These tiles harness and convert kinetic energy from passers-by into electricity that powers parts of the station,” the report says.