A REVOLUTIONARY half-train, half-coach travelling at up to 100mph and carrying both cars and passengers, could eventually link York directly with the Yorkshire Dales.
A full prototype of The BladeRunner, brainchild of North Yorkshire designer Carl Henderson, will be tested along the new Wensleydale railway line to Hawes, with a view to linking with York via the A19.
The new 18 metre (59ft) long vehicle, a scale model of which was on show at the London Science Museum yesterday, is being hailed as the answer to easing Britain's congested motorways and revolutionising freight carriage.
Carl Henderson, who runs engineering consultancy, Silvertip Design in Richmond said he hoped that the vehicle, which looks like a giant articulated lorry, would eventually occupy a special lane on motorways.
Cars would drive on and off it at key interchanges, and transporters would also be able to switch on to the railway network.
He said that within two years testing along the Wensleydale railway line would begin.
Mr Henderson said: "We could run along the railway line to Hawes, and provide a direct service from York to the Dales up the A19 and linking with the line."
The Government is considering spending £500,000 developing the vehicle, which has been designed in conjunction with Lancaster and Northumbria universities
Mr Henderson believes a fleet of the 18 metre-long BladeRunners could be the answer to a number of problems.
The designer said: "This will double the efficiency of commercial vehicles.
"One road lane transports a car every second.
"If the BladeRunner travels every two seconds and I put just four cars on it, I would be doubling the capacity of a road lane.
"It is possible that I could eventually be carrying an entire motorway on one lane, increasing the capacity but reducing the pollution."
If the BladeRunner gets the go-ahead, it will start off running on the rail network with a view to taking to the roads in the future. It also adapts to tramlines.
Mr Henderson started working on the project in 1997 and hopes to have a full-size one built next year.
Updated: 11:27 Friday, August 27, 2004
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