Variable track gauge train
Efforts to develop a variable track gauge train began in 1994, when the Council for Transport Technology called for such trains to help passengers avoid switching trains when transferring between a Shinkansen route with a standard track gauge of 1435mm and a local route with narrower track gauge of 1067mm. The objectives were to improve the convenience of trunk line railway networks and shorten overall traveling time for passengers. The Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation commissioned the Railway Technical Research Institute to develop the necessary technologies. A variable track gauge train can already be found in Thalgo, Spain, but the system only allows gauge adjustment only for passenger carriages with no motor mechanisms. If completed, the technology under development in Japan would be the worlds first gauge adjustment system for motorized train cars with a complicated mechanism. In January 1999, the prototype started a test run at 100km per hour along the JR San-in Line. In April 1999, a test operation at 250km per hour commenced in Colorado, United States, to test the durability of the system.
Light Rail Transit (LRT)
Light Rail Transit (LRT) is a medium volume railway system using lightweight carriages. The maximum transportation capacity is 10,000 to 20,000 people per hour. Maximum speeds are approximately 60km per hour on the ground, and 80km per hour on elevated or underground tracks. It uses elastic wheels incorporating shock-absorbing materials and has a floor height of 30 to 80cm. In Japan, LRT is attracting attention as a high-speed, low-noise, low-floor system to replace trams. At present, more than 10 cities use trams as their main inner-city transportation network. The move to introduce LRT has started using existing tram tracks in these cities. For example, in Kumamoto City, Japans first low-floor LRT trains began operation in August 1997.
