Japan launches hybrid train
Updated on 30 July 2007
Winding through rice paddies and lazily blowing its whistle along bubbly creeks, a two-car train in rural northern Japan is the latest entrant in the battle against global warming.
Following its runaway success with hybrid cars, Japan is bringing the world hybrid trains. Regular passenger runs are set to begin on a short mountain route, the first time a diesel-electric hybrid train will be put into commercial service.
"It's part of our efforts to be green," Yasuaki Kikuchi, a spokesman for East Japan Railway Co, said Friday during an exclusive trial run.
Compared to cars, trains are a relatively small contributor to global warming. In the US, railways contribute just 4% of transportation-related emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.
But the popularity of hybrid cars, such as Toyota Motor Corp's best-selling Prius, is helping to boost interest in hybrid trains. Railway companies around the world, including America's Amtrak and Germany's Deutsche Bahn, are working on or investigating the technology.
Cost remains a hurdle. The Japanese train, which boosts fuel efficiency by 20% and reduces emissions by up to 60%, runs nearly 200 million yen (£833,237), twice as much as a standard train, Kikuchi said.
The Kiha E200, as it is known, is equipped with a diesel engine, two electric motors under each of its cars and lithium ion batteries on the roof.
The diesel engine only kicks in with a rumble when needed to climb a hill or if the batteries run low.
The batteries are recharged when the train slows down. After the power is switched off, the motors continue to turn for a while, and that energy - wasted in a non-hybrid train - is used to recharge the batteries.
Besides the usual buttons and dials, the conductor also has a touch-panel monitor. Arrows show which way energy is flowing, connecting boxes that represent the engine, generator, motor and battery, busily changing direction every few minutes. Whether cars or trains, hybrids delicately balance the two sources of power, relying on a computer to minimise waste.
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