CST isn’t built to solve the last mile problem either—it explicitly shows cargo being delivered to and picked up from central hubs.

This is not a real last mile solution either. We once had the almost the same level of modularity by detaching cars in motion and letting them coast..

Really this is more about not messing with the existing mix of safety and liability defenses used to keep the current situation on the current tracks. These systems have to be sufficiently different because we aren't going to do a flag day to full automation.

trains absolutely solve the last mile problem and there is no better example of their modern usage than in switzerland where your ikea would be supplied by a single boxcar once a week