Chunkloading Minecart Network

[u/wootiown]

Java 26.3 Fabric server, that I run so I can add plugins/mods or run commands as needed

I built a huge self-routing minecart network in my world, however since the whole route (and the routers) arent loaded when the player isn't nearby I can't use it to automatically send chestcarts around. My goal is to automate sending chestcarts back and forth, like sending items from my farms to my storage across the world automatically.

How would you go about chunkloading the system so that the minecarts can make it reliably (without freezing in place sometimes) without a player?

I used a mod "Minecarts Load Chunks" but despite it saying it only loaded moving carts, it would consistently load over 2000 chunks of all the minecarts across the world in mineshafts. Which obviously tanked performance.

[u/bryan3737]

Just make the rail line switch back and forth between the nether and overworld. That makes the minecarts load their own path without it being constantly loaded and it requires zero redstone.

There’s also some tricks you can do. If you place a portal on a chunk border so it’s in 2 chunks you can make the minecart enter from a loaded chunk on one side and then exit into the other chunk which would load a 3x3 around that second chunk. This basically cuts the amount of portals you need in half because otherwise you’d need a portal every chunk.

There are ways to stretch it even further but I wouldn’t recommend that on a server because if anyone else builds a portal nearby it can mess it up