this post was submitted on 02 May 2025
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Trains are great but they don't typically run to your local warehouse...
They used to.
Because the warehouse was built on the tracks. Alas that infrastructure tie-in has mostly gone away, new facilities are built with proximity to cheap labor, land, and easy to consume + pollute natural resources.
Maybe this type of automation could be improved by letting trains handle the long journey part:
Autonomous truck -> train -> autonomous truck
Then, the automated trucks (that could maybe be dispatched from rail networks when you have cargo to send) dont have to do the long distance part. Only the last couple miles each time from train to warehouse and vice versa.
I'm sure there are complications im missing, but at scale this sounds like a feasible plan.
For shorter haul trips though, trucks are necessary for the whole journey no matter what.
They have, and they could again
Canals can be useful for this as well, Lowell MA used to have a huge industry all on waterfronts
Could but don't.