This article brought to you by the FOSO Public Works Administration
One of the newest features of this world is an upgrade to minecart rails. Rails now behave differently when placed on packed ice or blue ice blocks–namely that they increase the top speed of minecarts traveling atop them.
New Rail Behavior
Bound to Ice
Rails placed on packed/blue ice become “bound” to that ice. When you break a rail placed on packed/blue ice, the ice it’s placed on transforms into dirt, netherrack, or end stone depending on which dimension you’re currently in. We at the FPWA are unsure about why this happens. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Ordinarily, a rail broken above ice drops a regular rail, except when using an Iron Ice Pickaxe. (More below)
New Speeds
Rails on packed ice have a top speed of 48 blocks/second
This is 8 blocks/second faster than boats on packed ice.
Rails on blue ice have a top speed of 80 blocks/second
This is 10 blocks/second faster than boats on blue ice.
Powered rails on ice provide a better boost than normal powered rails
It should only take around 3-4 powered blue ice rails to get you up to top speed on a blue railway.
TIP: If you can only make a packed ice railway, it would still benefit you to use powered blue rails, as those will get you up to top speed quickly on your straightaways.
Speed Exceptions
These are the following exceptions to the above speeds.
When approaching a curve, upward hill, descent, or end of track, the top speed slows back down to the base 8 blocks/second
Put differently, ice rails are most effective/fast in a straight line.
NOTE: Even though the top speed does slow down before a curve, you should still put up a guardrail to prevent the minecart from flying off the track.
New Recipes
Packed Ice Rail / Blue Ice Rail
These are rails infused with black magic that causes the block beneath them to transform into the corresponding block of ice. So, don’t place these on any important blocks you don’t want to lose.
Powered Packed Ice Rail / Powered Blue Ice Rail
Iron Ice Pickaxe
This is a special pickaxe. When you use it on a rail that is placed on either packed ice or blue ice, instead of a normal rail being dropped, a Packed Ice Rail or Blue Ice Rail is dropped.
In this way, you could turn normal rails into ice rails (less efficient than crafting them), or you can retrieve a placed ice rail.
This is crafted using regular ice blocks
That should be all you need to know! If you have any questions, do feel free to submit an inquiry to the FPWA.