I mean ... we're talking about a train driver. They literally drive the same routes over and over again for their careers. When they get a new route, they're going to learn all the tricks pretty quickly.

But it is super impressive the huge jump in resistance between smooth metal on metal vs tires on pavement. A car in neutral would need a much steeper incline.

Also the trains in the Netherlands are fucking huge! It's hard to explain unless you've seen them. They don't look that different from the inside. The train looks like it's on standard gauge track. But the trains themselves just feel massive. The weight itself probably helps with the downhill acceleration.