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The Japanese Dual Mode vehicle is a bus Toyota thinks it’s a train



Waiting in line for one DMV sounds a lot more interesting in Japan than in the United States. Asa Coast Railway Company has launched a Toyota The Coaster-based Dual Mode Vehicle (DMV) can drive like a minibus on the road but can still glide like a train on rails.

The technology that powers Japan’s DMV is not entirely new; high railway vans help maintain the U.S. rail network equipped with a similar system. In short, the minibus is equipped with a front axle like a train that is placed under the body of the car when it is running on the paved road. The installation of the axle required a considerable lengthening of the front end. As the bus approaches the track, the axle expands to lift the front tire off the ground and allow the DMV to continue its journey. There is a train-like axle mounted at the rear, but the rear wheels remain on the ground.

Nobody expects speed from something called a DMV, and Japan’s Dual Mode Vehicle is no exception. With 21 passengers on board, it can reach speeds of 37 mph on train tracks and 62 mph on sidewalks. Specifications have not been released, but the Coaster is only offered with a turbodiesel engine.

According to Shigeki Miura, CEO of Asa Coast Railway Company, the rollout of DMVs in some rural areas of Japan, especially in areas with a large population of elderly people, is expected to fill fill important gaps in the public transport network. As of the time of this writing, only a handful of DMVs have been deployed in a relatively small town called Kaiyo. Miura hopes that other towns will adopt bus-trains in the coming years.

However, integrating the DMV into an existing rail network does not look cheap. In addition to the cost of making the necessary modifications to the Coaster, it appears that special up and down lines need to be built to allow the bus to function as a train. It’s an innovative concept and it will be interesting to see if local governments in Japan can justify making the necessary investments to capitalize on it.



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