日本：環保“路軌兩用車”將面世
Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. and its truck-making affiliate have joined a project to develop an environmentally friendly vehicle capable of moving both on roads and railways, an official said Monday.
Toyota and affiliate Hino Motors Ltd. will take part in the development of a new model of a road-rail vehicle originally created by railway operator JR Hokkaido, a Hino spokesman said.
The two auto companies are providing technology and materials to strengthen the front part of the "dual mode vehicle" so that it can carry up to 25 people.
The railway firm is already developing several prototypes of road-rail vehicles and has begun test drives.
The operator, which operates railways in the nation's northern island of Hokkaido, has developed the vehicle as part of its effort to utilize railways now out of service due to a sharp decline in passengers in the region.
The vehicle has eight wheels -- four iron wheels for railways and four rubber tyres for roads -- and is powered by a diesel engine. It is said to burn only one fourth of the fuel of conventional diesel-powered cars.
"Our contribution is expected to be another step toward more practical use of the dual mode vehicle," a Hino spokesman said.
The latest vehicle is expected to be completed by mid-June and will be displayed at a welcome event for this year's Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido in July for which climate change is high on the agenda.
日本一位官員於本週一表示，日本豐田汽車集團及其卡車製造分公司目前已參與研發一款路軌兩用的環保機動車。
日野汽車的發言人稱，豐田汽車及日野分公司將參與一款新型路軌兩用車的研發項目，這款車最初是由日本北海道旅客鐵道公司研製出來的。
這兩家汽車公司主要提供技術和材料，加強“兩用車”的車體前部構造，使其最多能夠容納25人。
北海道旅客鐵道公司已經研發出路軌兩用車的幾款樣車，並投入試運行。
北海道旅客鐵道公司一直在日本北部島嶼北海道經營鐵路運營業務，由於這一地區的鐵路因客流量急劇下降而停運，北海道公司採取各種措施利用鐵路，研發路軌兩用車便是其中之一。
這款柴油驅動的兩用車共有八個輪子，分別是四個在鐵軌上運行的鐵輪胎和四個在陸地上運行的橡膠輪胎。據說這款車的耗油量僅爲傳統柴油車的四分之一。
日野公司的發言人表示：“我們將爲進一步推進兩用車的實際應用做出貢獻。”
這款車預計於六月中旬出廠，並將於7月份在北海道召開的八國集團峯會歡迎儀式上亮相。今年八國峯會的主要議題是氣候變化。
