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Activator Rail
TransportationCraftable

Activator Rail

A special rail that triggers minecart actions when powered by redstone, such as detonating TNT minecarts and ejecting riders.

Stack Size

64

Durability

N/A

Category

Transportation

Version Added

1.5

Item ID

activator_rail

Activator Rail at a glance

Transportation holds Activator Rail: a transportation item out of crafting. A slot of Activator Rail holds 64, nine slots hold 576, and 1728 fill a chest.

Travel is the whole point of Activator Rail, and it earns its slot on any trip longer than a short walk. It is a 0.7-hardness block. A creeper does to Activator Rail what a tool does, because both work against 0.7. A pickaxe shortens the job on Activator Rail, and no minimum material applies. Generated chests only ever hold Activator Rail in one place: abandoned mineshaft chests (about 23%, 1 to 4 at a time). It sits between Acacia Boat with Chest and Birch Boat in Transportation, number 3 of 25 there.

Crafting recipe

Crafting
Iron IngotIron Ingot
StickStick
Iron IngotIron Ingot
Iron IngotIron Ingot
Redstone TorchRedstone Torch
Iron IngotIron Ingot
Iron IngotIron Ingot
StickStick
Iron IngotIron Ingot
Activator RailActivator Rail6

How to obtain

  • Crafting

Notes

When powered, it detonates TNT minecarts, ejects players and mobs, and deactivates hopper minecarts.

Frequently asked questions about Activator Rail

  1. Iron Ingot, Stick, Redstone Torch going into Activator Rail, the recipe this answer describes

    How do you get Activator Rail in Minecraft?

    Activator Rail is crafted from Iron Ingot, Stick, and Redstone Torch at a Crafting Table, and each craft returns 6.

  2. Activator Rail as a block, next to the pickaxe its 0.7 hardness asks for

    How long does Activator Rail take to break?

    Look up Activator Rail and you get 0.7 hardness, with 0.7 blast resistance on it. Since neither figure on Activator Rail is raised, it behaves the same under a pickaxe and under a blast. A pickaxe shortens the job on Activator Rail, and no minimum material applies. Java 26.2 sets Activator Rail at these values, and we copied them onto it.

  3. Activator Rail on its own, since nothing in the game is crafted from it

    What is Activator Rail used for?

    A special rail that triggers minecart actions when powered by redstone, such as detonating TNT minecarts and ejecting riders.

  4. A chest beside Activator Rail, the loot this answer lists

    Where do you find Activator Rail in chests?

    Activator Rail is chest loot in one place and one only: abandoned mineshaft chests (about 23%, 1 to 4 at a time). No other generated chest lists it, so that single structure is the whole search, and every other chest in the game will disappoint you.

  5. 64 Activator Rail drawn together, the full slot the answer counts

    How many Activator Rail can you stack?

    64 Activator Rail fills a slot, and that slot costs 66 Iron Ingot, 22 Stick, and 11 Redstone Torch, since each one returns 6, which is 11 crafts at the crafting table.

  6. Activator Rail coming forward out of the past, in the game since 1.5

    When was Activator Rail added to Minecraft?

    Activator Rail was added in version 1.5.

Building with it

Six iron, two sticks and a redstone torch give activator rails, and they act on the cart rather than the track: they eject a rider, trigger a TNT cart, or switch a hopper cart off. Every automatic minecart station has at least one.

In practice

An activator rail acts on the cart rather than on the track: it ejects a rider, sets off a TNT cart, and switches a hopper cart between collecting and idle. Every automatic station uses at least one, usually to empty the cart before it turns around.

Related Astroworld Resources

Activator Rail in a redstone circuit

Timing, signal strength and wiring for Activator Rail on Astroworld Redstone

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Full Crafting Guide

Step-by-step crafting recipe for Activator Rail

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