Darceno's Minecarts

Connecting your world with bridges and rail systems is really cool, but minecarts are really not. A rail system is one of the most expensive modes of transportation, and also one of the slowest. Imagine a horse going faster than a train?

This data pack (also available as a mod) aims to improve that while staying within the reasonable limits of vanilla-expected behavior.

Features

Speed

When ridden with a player or a mob, minecarts move as fast as an elytra, making them a viable option for transportation (minecart with chest also moves with increased speed).

And If that's too for you, there's also a slower version with the same features, but half the speed.

Speed difference between the two versions of the datapack/mod and vanilla

Autonomy

Both minecart with a mob aboard and minecart with chest will automatically load surrounding chunks if they're on rails, making it possible for them to cross long distances without the need for a player to be near by.

Here's a pig traveling 1000 blocks all by itself:

Pig loading chunks

Affordable rails

The crafting for powered rail now gives you 12 items in return rather than just 6.

New crafting recipe for the powered rail

Only the necessary

This mod does not affect empty minecarts, naturally generated minecarts with chest, and other minecarts variations. This ensures that farms utilizing minecarts with hoppers, for example, continue to function normally while also keeping the performance impact as low as possible.

FAQ and Notes

Can I include it in my modpack? Of course. Does the mod work on multiplayer? Yes, and as it is originally a datapack, it is 100% serverside, so the client doesn't need to have it installed. Is it safe to use? Yes, and it is also totally interchangeable with vanilla worlds. Adding or removing it to an existing world won't cause any problems (but read the last note). The only thing to keep in mind is if you use command blocks with /forceload, as there will be interference with the functions used by this datapack/mod. Also remember that if you leave a minecart with a chest/minecart with a mob on top of a rail, even if it's stationary, its chunk will still be loaded. If done excessively, this can cause lag, so it's better to avoid leaving them around carelessly.

Uninstalling

After removing the datapack from an existing world or uninstalling the mod, run the command /forceload remove all. This is just to ensure that no chunks are left loaded (since the mod will no longer be there to automatically unload them).