The electric car that travels by train

Specialist car builder Rinspeed has gained a reputation for the ambitious concept cars it unveils each year at the Geneva Motor Show, and its most recent design – a two-seater electric city car that boosts its range by travelling onboard a train – is no different.

The Rinspeed ‘UC?’measures only 2.5 metres in length and is designed to drive straight on and off specially modified trains.

Riding piggyback in this way would enable it to travel a significantly greater distance than the 75 miles allowed by its batteries.

Cars on trains

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “The idea of carrying small cars on trains in this way is not new – when the Smart car was launched, it was envisaged that it would travel longer distances in this way – but such a system is unlikely to be economically feasible. A more practical way of using electric cars for a long journey might be to have them for hire at railway stations.”

An on-street electric vehicle hire scheme is promised for Paris. Following in the steps of its successful ‘Vélib’ on-street bicycle hire scheme, the city is planning to launch a fleet of electric hire cars called ‘Autolib’.

There are plans for 700 Autolib hire points around the city, 200 of which will be underground. Drivers will be free to pick up and drop off the vehicles at any of the hire points. A computer onboard each car will allow drivers to announce their destination, thus ensuring a parking space is available at the end of their journey.

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