Railway format using Tesla Batteries to achive high speed

About a year ago I published a proposal for a high speed transit format for the UK called the MaRT proposal. This envisaged a high speed national metro system for the UK using maglev technology. The responses I got were generally encouraging but sceptical of Maglev technology. so I have devised a alternative system called the Skate Train (an inline wheel format) and have written a short presentation outlining my ideas.

Its main novelty, apart from the infrastructure described in the original proposal. is that it combines the use of Tesla battery packs to augment an external DC power feed. This allows a high speed format to use the advantages of DC transmission without the impediment of low voltage which reduces power and thus high speed. This is conceptual and the detailed maths is beyond my ken, but I have a hunch that combining the two will lead to an efficient and economically viable system.

If you are curious, I attach my presentation to read. I would really like to engage in a discussion to find out whether or not such a system is possible. As you will see, the idea progresses through the presentation and I even manage to supercede my own concept in the final slides! :biggrin:

Skate Train Presentation

View attachment Skate Train presentation2.pdf

MaRT proposal
View attachment MaRT proposal.pdf

Thank you for your response Johan. My limited physics knowledge tells me that there are advantages and disadvantages to any approach, and that either an AC or DC system would have benefits and costs in regards to transmission losses. I will explore your suggestion further, although DC transmission has been a common approach to railways for a long time, so I am sure that there are solutions.

For example one advantage of a battery system acting as a buffer would be that you could have regular breaks in the line to avoid high losses. (Contemporary AC rail systems have neutral sections to avoid out of phase currents mixing) I would also envisage active switching as the train approaches, although this would not be cheap or easy to do with such high powered systems. I just think that a large battery system would lower the voltage required enough to enable the 'difficult' engineering to take place away from the vehicle or the immediate trackside. What that engineering is, I do not know but would like to explore.

On the other hand my spelling mistake was unforgivable. I have duly corrected it. If only I could change the mistake in the Thread Title!

Another way to use Batteries - A railway version of the Volt!

Greener, quieter and more efficient - has Rolls-Royce created the train of the future? - Telegraph

Sometimes simple ideas are the best. Discussing these ideas on another forum, another idea developed. In the UK, HS2 (proposed high speed rail link) will join London with Birmingham, and then to manchester. Why not simple build a concrete trackway and use modified autonomous model S cars? Simply remove the driving controls and put three seat in the front. Buy 1000 of them for £100 million and run them as autonomous pods, seating up to 6 adults. Develop suitable endurance tyres
Distance is 120 miles. Projected cruise speed 140 miles an hour Would Model S have range? Simply do a quick battery swop in Birmingham and then to Manchester. for comparison HS2 is projected to cost £50-80 billion.