Minecart

This article is about the rideable minecart. For the Minecraft Dungeons entity, see MCD:Minecart. For other kinds of minecart, see Minecart (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Minecraft.

Template:ItemEntity A minecart is a train-like vehicle entity that runs on rails.

Obtaining

Minecarts can be retrieved by attacking them for some time. Minecarts can also be retrieved with one attack from a pickaxe provided the player's attack cooldown is reset. A minecart is also destroyed if it makes contact with a cactus, or if shot with a bow and arrow.

Crafting

Ingredients	Crafting recipe
Iron Ingot

Entity loot

Minecarts with chests, with hoppers, with furnaces‌^{[Java Edition only]}, and with TNT each drop 1 minecart & 1 chest, hopper, furnace, or TNT, respectively. Minecarts with TNT that are detonated do not drop; the minecart is destroyed in the blast.

Minecarts with command blocks and Minecarts with spawners‌^{[Java Edition only]} can be given to the player only with the /give or the /summon command. Each drop 1 minecart when broken.

Usage

File:RideableMinecart.png

A rideable minecart on rails surrounded by wood slabs

A minecart can be placed in the same manner as most blocks but can be placed only on top of a rail. Once placed, it may be derailed by pushing it off the end of the track. After this, it can be railed again by placing a rail directly below it or pushing it onto a track.

Transportation

File:Steve Riding a Minecart.png

Steve riding a minecart

Minecarts can be ridden by pressing the "use" control on them. Once inside, an external impulse may be needed to make the minecart start moving. The player can slowly move the minecart forward while riding it, by pressing forward. If a mob walks in front of an empty minecart, it is pulled into the cart.

Players can exit the minecart by pressing sneak, however, if there is only one block of headroom above the cart, the player takes 19px of suffocation damage. When a minecart is exited, it searches for an adjacent or diagonal 2×2×3 area to put the player 1.5 blocks away from the cart. If none are available, the player is deposited directly above the minecart. Consequently, the player falls inside the minecart.

After rolling off of the end of a track, a minecart can be pushed around on open blocks. If a minecart is pushed onto or falls onto tracks, it "snaps" to those tracks. When riding a minecart, if the minecart lands on a rail, the player does not take any fall damage.

Unlike with beds, there is no message above the hotbar for attempting to enter a fully occupied minecart.

Behavior

Speed

Minecarts have a predefined speed limit of 8 blocks per second per axis of travel. A minecart traveling diagonally can, therefore, travel up to 11.314 blocks per second. When a minecart comes to a turn it moves diagonally across that turn.

Powered rails powered by redstone give minecarts a boost of speed. Speed is gradually decreased if there are no powered rails to assist its movement, and an unpowered powered rail slows down a minecart rapidly. The speed decreases at a faster rate when going uphill, compared to when moving horizontally. A minecart does not need powered rails to assist its movement down a hill.

Anything in the way of the minecart brings it to a stop. Once a minecart has left the track, it rapidly decelerates within one or two blocks. When mobs touch a minecart, they affect it in the same way a player would, i.e. mobs that move up against a still cart set it in motion.

If a minecart is moving fast enough, it can skip across one block without a track and reattach to track on the other side, at significantly reduced energy and speed. A minecart's hitbox can skip turns if the minecart is boosted using enough powered rails.

Merged minecarts

In Java Edition, two or more minecarts can be merged by pushing them into each other so that they overlap. Merged minecarts move as a collective, like a train, and can be useful for long-distance transport.

Distance traveled by empty carts starting at a downwards slope

This table shows the distance traveled by an unoccupied minecart on a downward slope, with a boost (or no boost). The most efficient way is to use only 1 boost at the bottom of the incline on the flat surface. Using 2 increases distance by about 20% or 1.5 blocks. All distance trends based on the height seem to be logarithmic. The carts started from rest, on a slope Height blocks up.

Height	No Boost	Bottom	Bottom and Top	All boosts on incline and bottom
1	2.77m	8.77	10.8	10.8
2	4.59m	9.59	10.83	13.37
3	5.81m	9.81	11.66	15.12
4	7.04m	10.04	12.46	16.95
5	7.87m	10.87	12.29	17.95
10	11.65m	13.38	15.12	21.68
100	15.87m	17.05	17.54	25.34

Collision

Minecarts are about the same size as a block (1×1). Because of this, a ladder, door, or trapdoor prevents it from falling down a 1×1 hole.

Carts on rails also ignore collision in certain situations. A cart traveling uphill, downhill, or on a curve with a block placed in front of it, goes through the block.

A player or mob riding in a minecart does not collide with or suffocate in any transparent blocks but suffocates inside opaque blocks.

Minecarts are completely unaffected by ice, blue ice, and packed ice.

Minecarts are destroyed in contact with lava or fire.

Mobs

File:Minecart shake.gif

Minecart shaking due to being on top of an activator rail.

Most mobs can ride minecarts, but only some types of mobs can control them. Mobs cannot exit the minecart unless the minecart is destroyed or moves onto an active activator rail. Endermen, therefore, are unable to teleport out of minecarts.

A mob can ride a minecart by a player placing the minecart under a mob, or by the mob moving into the minecart's space. Some mobs are able to nudge minecarts while in them, like players.

Tamed wolves and cats follow the player when the player rides a minecart.

The player can bump a medium slime in a minecart, rendering it unable to attack. However, a large slime can still attack.

A spider jockey riding a minecart automatically accelerates the minecart.

Boats

When a boat is placed in a minecart‌^{[Java Edition only]}, the minecart travels faster on rails, approximately as fast as on powered rails. The movement in the boat minecart is glitchy and moving forward with the W key moves the cart backward relative to the player, and vice versa for moving backward with the S key. The minecart also moves on the rail-less ground at a crawling speed, but it does not float in the water despite being in a boat.

Using this glitch can be far more resource-efficient since the boat minecart can move at the speed of a powered rail track on flat ground and on slopes. Another physics glitch with the boat minecart is the extreme reduction in friction when the minecart is on rails, which is similar to the lack of friction when a boat is riding on ice. This glitch can be done in survival without cheats simply by pushing a minecart into a boat on the track.

Sounds

Sound	Subtitle	Source	Description	Namespaced ID	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
File:Minecart inside.ogg	None	?	Plays when inside of a moving minecart	entity.minecart.inside	None	?	?	16
File:Minecart inside underwater1.oggFile:Minecart inside underwater2.oggFile:Minecart inside underwater3.ogg	None	?	Plays when player eye level goes underwater while inside of a moving minecart	entity.minecart.inside.underwater	None	?	?	?
File:Minecart rolling.ogg	Minecart rolls	?	Plays when the minecart is moving	entity.minecart.riding	subtitles.entity.minecart.riding	?	?	16

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Item	Namespaced ID	Form	Translation key
Minecart	minecart	Item	item.minecraft.minecart

Entity	Namespaced ID	Translation key
Template:EntitySprite Minecart	minecart	entity.minecraft.minecart

Bedrock Edition:

Item	Namespaced ID	Numeric ID	Form	Translation key
Minecart	minecart	328	Item	item.minecart.name

Entity	Namespaced ID	Numeric ID	Translation key
Template:EntitySprite Minecart	minecart	84	entity.minecart.name

Entity data

See also: Chunk format

Minecarts have entity data associated with them that contain various properties of the entity.

History

Java Edition Infdev
Minecraft Infdev		20100618			32px 32px Added minecarts.
					Minecarts are not rideable but instead are used to store things in.
					Right-clicking minecarts opens them like a chest (with the container called "Minecart". Filling them up makes the dirt layer inside them rise.
		20100624			32px 32px The textures of minecarts have been changed.
					The minecart mechanics have been changed to rideable minecarts, removing their ability to store items.
?					32px Minecarts now render a chest inside for unknown reasons.
Java Edition Alpha
v1.0.4					A sitting animation for riding minecarts has been added.
					Removed the phantom chest from minecarts.
v1.0.14					Minecarts are now used to craft furnace and storage minecarts.
v1.2.2					Minecarts now appear to other players and can be ridden in multiplayer.
					Minecarts are no longer fully solid - they no longer block movement, and can no longer be stood on top of.
Java Edition Beta
1.5					Minecarts now break faster with hands.
					Powered rails have been introduced, which enables minecarts to move automatically, although previous methods of boosting no longer works, or does not work as effectively.
					The detector rail switch has been introduced for use in detecting minecarts. Prior to this update, carts were detected by using pressure plates in line with cart tracks. This had the often undesirable effect of dramatically slowing or even stopping the minecart, which limited the use of this design mostly to boosters.
1.6		Test Build 3			A minecart now transfers any fall damage it suffers onto its rider and is not destroyed upon impact.
1.8		Pre-release			If the player punches a minecart when descending from a jump, it shows the critical hit animation. This also happens if the player punches the cart while still in it.
Java Edition
1.0.0		Beta 1.9 Prerelease			C418 posted a sound showing the sound that minecarts make.
		Beta 1.9 Prerelease 6			The texture of minecarts has changed slightly.
1.3.1		12w21b			The player no longer spawns on top/inside of the minecart after getting out. Instead, the player gets out a few blocks away. Also, the player can nudge a stationary minecart while inside it to move onto a powered rail, etc.
1.4.2		12w38b			Sounds for minecarts have been added.
1.5		13w02a			Minecarts can now be edited with a third-party program to show any block inside of it (it does not take on the characteristics of this block), as well as make it take on the characteristics of any cart.
					Minecart types no longer all share the same entity ID – Minecart – and are no longer distinguished by a Type field. They have been given separate entity IDs.
					Minecarts are now used to craft TNT minecarts.
		13w03a			Minecarts are now used to craft hopper minecarts.
1.7.2		13w39a			Added minecart with command block.
1.8		14w11a			Minecart physics have been changed - they now go faster and further, can derail at corners if going too fast and refuse to go uphill and they can also (if going fast enough) go over 1 block.
					The collision and position handling of minecarts have been improved.
		14w17a			All changes to old minecart physics used before 14w11a have been reverted.
1.9.1		pre2			Extreme typos in minecarts with hoppers and chests, reading "container.minecart'' have been fixed.
1.11		16w32a			The entity ID has been changed from MinecartRideable to minecart.
1.13		17w47a			Prior to The Flattening, this item's numeral ID was 328.
1.14		18w43a			32px 32px The textures of minecarts have been changed.
		19w13a			Minecarts now move much slower when pushed along standard rails using the W key, even slower on unpowered golden rails, and cannot be pushed off of unpowered golden rails without the player looking at a certain angle.
1.16		20w09a			Minecart now checks dismount position height against entity height.
		20w16a			Minecarts no longer have subtitles for movement.
Upcoming Java Edition
1.17		20w45a			Minecarts can now move in water.
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.8.0		build 2			32px 32px Added minecarts.
		build 3			Minecarts now ride smoother.
v0.13.0		build 1			Sounds for minecarts have been added.
		build 2			Minecarts now stack on top of each other.
v0.14.0		build 1			Minecarts can now be used to craft storage, TNT, and hopper minecarts.
Bedrock Edition
1.10.0		beta 1.10.0.3			32px 32px The textures of minecarts have been changed.
Legacy Console Edition
TU1	CU1	1.0	Patch 1	1.0.1	32px 32px Added minecarts.
					Minecarts are now twice the speed than in other editions.
TU12					Minecarts are now slower.
TU13					Minecarts are now faster again.
TU21	CU9	1.14			The minecart limit has been increased.
TU31	CU19	1.22	Patch 3		Minecart sounds have been updated.
		1.90			32px 32px The texture of minecarts has been changed.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0					32px 32px Added minecarts.

Gallery

• Minecart fire pig.png

  A pig inside a burning minecart

• MinecartInfdev1.PNG

  A Minecart opened in Minecraft Infdev

• MinecartInfdev2.png

  A Minecart filled in Minecraft Infdev

• 2ed Spawner Minecart Image and 1st Dispenser cart image.jpeg

  An image of two Minecart with Spawners and unimplemented Minecart with Dispensers.

• Minecart with chest and head thing.png

  The first image Jeb released.

• Pocket Edition v0.8.0 alpha Development minecarts.png

  The first image of minecarts in Pocket Edition.

• Minecart Booster.png

  Minecart booster.

Issues

Issues relating to "Minecart" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia

• Minecarts appear to float above the track, as their model has no wheels.
• If the player views their inventory while riding in a minecart, they appear sitting down in mid-air.
• The player can teleport to another minecart while sitting in a minecart by right-clicking a minecart in their range. This can be used as an elevator to quickly rise up when minecarts are placed on top of each other.
• If the sound is muted in the options while riding a minecart, and then turned back up, the minecart no longer makes noise in the client until the player exits the minecart.
• If a saddled pig is riding a minecart, the player can ride the pig. Doing so causes the minecart to be able to ride freely at the player's walking speed. It is unknown whether this is a glitch.
• It seems that hunger does not deplete while inactive in a minecart (at least in normal difficulty).

Gallery

• MinecartStack.png

  Minecarts being stacked on each other.

• Villager in minecart.png

  Villager in a minecart.

• Minecartride.jpg

  Player in minecart.

References

Items

View at: Template:Items/content [edit]