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The NST (Non-Stop Train) Project

Picture this: It is many years into the future, the massive cities of the future span across thousands of miles, through out the world, these cities are home to millions upon millions of people.

The question is raised, what would be the most efficient way of transporting all of these people. So far, in the 21st century, we have seen may good attempts, the bullet train, monorails, however the one problem with just about all methods of public transport today, is that they all have to stop, otherwise they are no good to anyone. Granted, they may stop infrequently, but they still have to stop.

Well, I (William Denniss) have devised myself one possible solution to the problem. I thought about it circa 1995, but it is only now (2001) that I have finally committed it to digital form. The picture you see above gives you a very rough idea of how it works. Basically, there is the main section of the train, who's layout is much the same as many around in today's world. Please note that I am only specifying the design, and general idea of the NST, not how it is implemented, however if it were to be implemented today, I probably would suggest that it could be powered by huge electromagnets, similar to some theme park attractions. The main part of the train is accompanied by a small unit (the transport module), capable of attaching itself to the main part of the train. To illiterate, we will follow the journey of a guy called Bob. Bob is waiting on Glen Iris station, when it is time, he jumps aboard the small transport module. After a minute, this module starts moving, accelerates for several seconds, until it is traveling at an extremely fast speed. Here, it meets the main part of the train, and matches its speed, then it connects. Bob, and the rest of the passengers board the big train, while the other passengers on the train wishing to get off at the next station board the module. As Bob is taking his seat, the transport module disconnects, and starts slowing down, so as it will stop at the approaching station. Bob continues his ride, until it is his station next, where he boards the transport module, which then disconnects and brings him to a stop, at his station. Bob hopes off, delighted that of his very long train ride, he didn't stop at any stops that weren't his own.

Ok, now I have hopefully given you enough background material, check out my Flash diagram (requires Flash to be installed - duh). To understand the symbols, look at this key. NOTE: These demos are definitely NOT to scale!
Basic NST Model (large, bigger than the screen) Scaled Basic NST Model (fits on the screen).

You will notice that you need a number of transport module, equivalent to the total number of stations (both ways) added to the number of trains currently operating.

Now for some variations:
The Double module version. This version allows the stations to be much closer together, as only one action (unloading OR loading) occurs per module, per station.
Check out the flash demo: Double Module Version Double Module Version (small)

And, lastly the grid version, which allows an entire 2D section of a city to be fitted with the NSTs.
Note, that this flash demo is only 1 section of the grid, you will have to imagine what that would look like tiled. Also note that the transport module, would not necessarily service 1 train per section of the grid, it could skip them, depending on their availability.
Check out the Grid Layout Version