A channeled rail train is a form of transportation in which a car or line of cars rides upon a single channeled rail and is propelled forward by the interaction of the channeling between the rail and the "rail rider" on the bottom of the car.
Development
After the development of metal channeling techniques, there was an immediate push to incorporate them into every possible existing technology for the sake of efficiency, and transportation was no different. There were two schools of thought for this in regards to trains: updating the now-obsolete engines to continue using the same systems or utilizing channeling in the rails as an update for both transportation systems and car design. The approach followed for development differed depending on the region.
Deamei in particular pushed for rail development for both local and long-distance travel while Irocra, perhaps simply in the tradition of opposing most decisions from Deamei, and Domthe, a mostly mountainous province that balked at the idea of replacing their entire rail system, funded traditional engine development. Most other provinces funded varying degrees of each depending on popular opinion.
Mechanics
Unlike most other applications of metal channeling which utilize an internal channel to transmit energy, a channeled rail relies on the energy return cycle along the exterior of the rail. When another piece of channeled metal with a similar directional flow comes into contact with a rail it will begin to move in the direction of the flows. On a channeled rail train this is referred to as the rail rider. A second rail rider with a flow in the opposite direction is used as a break. These rail riders are mounted underneath cars which are either suspended over the rail or have wheels running along a separate set of un-channeled rails.
In order to generate a strong enough flow to propel a train forward, there are channeling enhancement stations along the rail where skilled aggregants oversee the systems responsible for maintaining the flow rate. Depending on the level of use, length of the rail system, and the quality of the base channeling on a particular stretch of rail, these systems could be out of use for up to a day before any noticeable change in speed or efficiency.
Current Applications
While local channeled rail systems are common in larger cities like Deamei City, the most well-known use of the channel rail train is the Pan-Lelandic Channel Train System, commonly referred to as the PLaCT, which connects all corners of Leland together primarily for passenger travel.
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