Anyone who had ever had to depend on mass transit as their main form of transportation knows that the difference between a good day and a lousy day can often depend on the how smoothly the A to B and back to A commute runs. The design behind high speed rail incorporates all kinds of Utopian design ethics to improve the way society moves around. All kinds of design related problems need to be solved, from the color and comfort of the interior to the aerodynamics of the exterior and the energy source that pulls at speeds of close to 300mph. Still careful planning must take place to coordinate track lines, routes, and schedules. Seating size, dining car menus, foot rests, and toilets all have to have very important decisions made in order to allow for the functionality of the train as a whole. Then there is the train station which serves as an access point for all passengers. Within the station design of waiting rooms, ticket counters, and loading areas are just as important in maximizing the efficiency of the system as a whole. When any of these factors is not pulling at full speed the whole system slows down and so does society as a whole. This works in a way very similar to the major systems in the human body that depend on each other to facilitate life as a whole. As technology changes so society fallows and much depends on the designers of our transit system to keep up with the needs for transport. This may pose a huge task for designers who live in the age of teleportation.
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