It seems that the case Toyota Lexus had been thinking found its way to the Mercedez-Benz engineers too. The Lexus people claimed to have made a hoverboard for us, and Mercedez went one step forward in crazy with a smart car on rails. Wait, what?
The smart Forfour based train is something of a reckoning for us. How on Earth could some people intermix two of the most prominent modes of transportation. Rail is mass-network for a larger number of people while smart cars are entirely on the other end of the line with room for only four people. The Smart Forrail, as the founders call it, does exist making us wonder the exact reason behind its development.
Don’t get us wrong though, the rail network is one of safest ways to locomote safely and uninterrupted. I just don’t get it why people would be interested in this kind of vehicle. They would be confined to the rails, and there would be no option of overtaking too for the sake of God! It seems this too has been made for some novelty-based popularity. But if that is the case, the company spent six hard months developing this car. The car-to-train conversion was deemed as incredibly complicated by the company despite what may appear.
The company teamed up with British design specialists Interfleet for some gruelling CAD based designing, tests and simulations. The smart car was to be converted into a rail-based platform, and all necessary groundwork was to be done. The most obvious barrier to this was the solid-steel wheels that will have to navigate through the tracks. Rails do not need steering, so the whole system was dropped. The front axles were also welded to avoid any untoward movement from the metal wheels.
The first test of the car-train was successful with the car able to complete a 10-mile journey without derailing but, it was traveling at low speed throughout. It may pull off an unexpected entry to the transport network around you, but don’t get your hopes up just yet. It is extremely unlikely. The company also discouraged further pursuit of this painful transformation.
Why you did you it then, eh Germans?