this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2023
89 points (96.8% liked)

Europe

8324 readers
1 users here now

News/Interesting Stories/Beautiful Pictures from Europe πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί

(Current banner: Thunder mountain, Germany, πŸ‡©πŸ‡ͺ ) Feel free to post submissions for banner pictures

Rules

(This list is obviously incomplete, but it will get expanded when necessary)

  1. Be nice to each other (e.g. No direct insults against each other);
  2. No racism, antisemitism, dehumanisation of minorities or glorification of National Socialism allowed;
  3. No posts linking to mis-information funded by foreign states or billionaires.

Also check out [email protected]

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Summary:
Tesla has opened its railway line east of Berlin to passenger trains, providing transportation to workers at its new Gigafactory. The short rail line, which was bought from an independent German rail infrastructure holding company, gives Tesla direct connections to the main line linking Berlin with Poland. The railway line has been used for construction and will be used to dispatch or receive up to six freight trains daily. The Tesla factory is expected to employ around 10,000 people working 24/7 shifts, and the company has sponsored passenger trains to transport employees to and from the factory. The passenger trains are being operated by a local rail contractor and run 54 times a day on weekdays. There are plans to relocate a nearby Deutsche Bahn station near the factory in the future.

Comments:
Tesla has bought a German railway line to serve its new Gigafactory outside Berlin, which some have deemed irrelevant to the German passenger landscape. The railway line is primarily a short branch to service the factory and does not have multiple stations like a traditional railway line. Commuters have stated that the train service won't change much for them, as they were already using a shuttle bus. However, the fast commuter trains mentioned in the article run irregularly throughout the day. Some have found it ironic that Tesla is building a railway line to facilitate car production, considering that Elon Musk has expressed open hostility towards public transportation.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 54 points 1 year ago (2 children)

So they do know how sensible electrified transport should work...

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I was half expecting the story to end with 'he plans to shut it down within the month'.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

Nah, he’ll just crank the prices, fill it with ads, and make sure it’s never on time. Then he’ll complain when people don’t want to ride it anymore.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

The use of the word "plans" is optimistic here ... he'll just do it in a fit of ... intuition at some random point in the future.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

These trains will be free for all passengers. And probably paid by the company

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

The punchline is that the train is not electrified, instead it runs with diesel.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That..that's what it is. It's literally a diesel powered train. I wasn't joking, reality is the joke.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

NO! It can't be! It was meant to be a joke! Say that you are kidding!

I just can't decide if I should laugh or cry.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I mean, you can even see it in the photo of the Gigafactory Station. Germany doesn't have electrified tracks, only overhead wire (or side rail for underground or inner city trains), neither are visible in the picture.

It's nice that now there's a train to the factory, but it's just a tiny diesel powered train that's usually used to connect small towns and villages- east germans call that a "Ferkeltaxi" (piggy taxi).

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I burst out in laughter telling my colleague about this earlier in the office. When I showed him the article he pointed at the picture and said I should have seen that it is a Diesel train.

Well. Just one more shitty solution my Tesla then...