Dual-Mode Train Can Switch from Tracks to Roads

Is it a train? Is it a tram? Is it a bus? Nope, it's Dual Mode AutoTram. All-in-one multi-purpose transportation vehicle.

A Japanese company named JR Hokkaido Co. began commercial operations Saturday of its Dual-Mode Vehicle, a minibus with retractable train wheels for use on tracks, on a test basis on the Semmo Line along the Sea of Okhotsk.

Preliminary trials suggested the vehicle's fuel cost to be about a quarter of that of a diesel vehicle and maintenance cost about one-eighth, while offering the flexibility to extend railed systems within and beyond, city limits.

It could be a solution for municipalities wanting and looking to lower the operating costs of local lines that are having a tough go of it financially, or even to extend streetcars (tramways) beyond the limit of their tracks.

The initial concept is a single-carriage train, in fact a modified microbus that has both steel wheels to operate on tracks and rubber tires for the streets.

The test run was performed between two Japanese cities and it left on railroad tracks from one station to the other and returned via road later in the day, after converting from steel wheels to rubber tires in about 15 seconds.

The company's plans involve 84 similar runs through the end of June mostly on weekends. The booking rate is at 81 percent. The company is considering introducing a sightseeing route starting in July

Future applications in city transport would benefit from the multiple advantages the manufacturer presented, like the fact that it can carry about 12 passengers, a tram conductor, a bus driver and a tour guide, or that it costs roughly one-sixth the price to develop a conventional rail car with the fuel cost reduced to about a quarter.

If the project will take off successfully, the company has plans for bigger applications, with an increased capacity and a more stylish design.