Low Energy Trains

Existing trains are heavy and passengers are forced to follow the schedule. To combine the advantages of individual transportation such as cars with the energy efficiency of low-friction tracks, a low-energy train will be the most useful means of transport for mid-range distances and in cities.
The low-energy train is actually not a train with an engine and coaches. Each coach has its own electric engine and can carry up to 8 people. These vehicles can drive independently of each other but will mainly build interconnection with others to form batches to reduce aerodynamic drag. In each station some of these vehicles will be waiting for passengers; each vehicle will have a designated destination, which will be determined by the passengers. The first passenger will fix the destination and the following passengers who also want to be transported to the same destination, or in the direction of this destination, will fill the places. As soon as it is full or the waiting time for the first passenger reaches about 5 minutes the vehicle will start. In parallel other vehicles from other stations before that station will pass by in batches, because each of these vehicles has the same power and the complete batch is faster as more vehicles are combined because the batch has a much lower aerodynamic resistance then the individual vehicles. So the natural way to travel long distances is to have a large number of individual vehicles combined in batches.
The weight of such a vehicle is no more than one of today's minibuses, because it is not necessary for an individual vehicle to pull or decelerate the complete batch. Also the passenger seats will look more like the seats in small aeroplanes or minibuses, to minimize the parasitic weight, which is necessary if space for walking and standing is there.
The batch itself need not stop at each station because only the vehicles with destination of an upcoming station are sorted out by high speed track switches inside the track, so that the overall travelling time is much shorter than that of true trains, which stop at nearly all intermediate stations. The maximum speed of such a batch could be up to 200 km/h, whereas an individual vehicle can only reach 100 km/h if it is alone. If a vehicle has to decelerate it will use its engine as a dynamo, which will generate electrical power for the other vehicles.
Goods can also be transported with this system over long distances. The vehicles for transportation of goods will have the same size and power as those for passengers, only the loading space will look different, being optimized for boxes. The distances for freight can be much greater than for passengers, because goods can be transported many days without stopping.
The loading and unloading of goods will be controlled by computers to ensure fast, automated transfer, as in a packing station today.

The transportation of goods from the station to the final destination will be by means of Bio Fuel Driven Lorries. The passenger will reach the station by their privately owned Pedelecs if they live in rural areas. In cities public transport as as we know it today is used for the transportation from the train station to the final destination.
The speed, the track switches, and the allocation of vehicles will be controlled by computers. Each vehicle has its own computer in it, which is networked with the other vehicles on the same track and the computers in the stations. These computers will also take care of the coupling and uncoupling of tracks, when a standing vehicle on a side track is allowed to enter the main track and when a batch is allowed to cross other tracks. To increase the safety, independent sensor systems are able to stop vehicles or reduce their speed if these sensors indicate an approach at too high a speed or if the main track is occupied for vehicles that want to enter the main track.
The passenger simply gets into the vehicle and enters the destination in the integrated terminal, either with an ID card, which contains the actual destination, or by typing in the destination. For long distances it might be necessary for passengers to change vehicles at branch stations, but this is then indicated to the passenger during travel by the terminal. The waiting time at each station is limited to 5 minutes, anyhow.