TOKUSHIMA After several delays, Asa Seaside Railway Corp. picked Christmas Day to start the world’s first full-fledged commercial operations of a dual-mode vehicle (DMV) capable of running on railway tracks and paved roads.
Asa Seaside Railway’s dual-mode vehicle runs on railway tracks for the first time. (Tsukasa Fuke)
KAIYO, Tokushima Prefecture Asa Seaside Railway Corp. has conducted its first test of a dual-mode vehicle (DMV) capable of running on both railway tracks and paved roads.
The Kaiyo-based semi-public company, which operates railway lines in Tokushima and Kochi prefectures, tested the commercial DMV on the Asato Line on Dec. 15.
Hokkaido Railway Co. (JR Hokkaido) had previously operated a test DMV on rail tracks on a trial basis.
During the test, Asa Seaside Railway’s DMV shifted from “bus mode” to “train mode” at the “mode interchange” facility newly installed at Awa-Kainan Station in Kaiyo. In about 15 seconds, a pair of wheels appeared under the front and rear of the vehicle body to touch the rails, lifting the rubber tires at the front.