I came across an intriguing company called SWIFT Rails that looks like a blend of a transit system, autonomous car and roller coaster all in one. However, instead of being designed for delivering intense forces and thrills, SWIFT Rails is designed to give safe, comfortable and efficient transportation.

The first thing that caught my attention were the wheel assemblies and track. The wheel assemblies looked just like those found on steel coasters with guide wheels and upstop wheels while the track looked like Schwarzkopf track you’d see on a ride like Minebender at Six Flags Over Georgia. This isn’t unexpected though in that there are only so many optimized ways to run a rolling vehicle down a track.

In talking with Daryl Anderson, CFO of SWIFT Rails, he mentioned that they actually consulted with some roller coaster folks as part of their design process, so there is some coaster DNA in SWIFT Rails. Mr. Anderson, however, made clear that they are not a coaster and are designed for a gentle ride taking steps to bank turns based on speed so that the rider doesn’t feel it.

During a recent trip to Birmingham in the United Kingdom I had an experience that made me totally understand SWIFT Rails vision. On my last day I needed to get from downtown to the airport and an Uber would have been 45 minutes because of traffic, but a train was just 9 minutes. It was both a cost savings and a time savings while certainly being better for the environment too. Now imagine this same concept, but rather than being just between downtown and the airport on a predetermined schedule in a large public train you could take a private pod on demand from many more locations than just major stations. SWIFT Rail pods are designed to operate on elevated tracks providing point to point service at ultra-energy efficiency.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a “blend” of theme park and transportation technology either. The PeopleMover at Disney is indeed a ride, but it was also meant to be a model for a real future transportation system. In fact there was a commercial one built at the Houston Airport and there is a great YouTube video about it. In many ways SWIFT Rails has a lot in common with the PeopleMover given its individual pods that are all independently propelled and controlled on elevated track above Tomorrowland.

It will be fun to watch SWIFT Rails in the coming years to see how this technology evolves. Early concept art and reality are often two different things as technology develops, but that’s OK. I believe industries don’t learn from each other or borrow from each other as much as they could and should, so I’m all for the use of any theme park technology that can make transportation safer and more efficient.