CNBNews

by Hank F. Miller Jr.

  Winding through rice paddies and lazily blowing its whistle along bubbly creeks, a two -car train in rural central 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 service runs began on July 31 st. on a short mountain route, the first time a diesel-electric hybrid train was put into commercial service.  

"It's part of efforts for the Japanese to be green environmentally," Yasuaki Kikuchi, a spokesman for East Japan Railway Co., said on July 27th.

Compared to cars, trains are a relatively small contributor to global warming. In the United States, railways contribute just 4 percent of transportation-related emissions of carbon dioxide.  

But the popularity of hybrid cars is helping to boost interest in hybrid trains. Railway companies around the world are working on or investigating the technology. The Kiha E-200, 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. It boosts fuel efficiency by 20 percent and reduces emissions by up to 60 percent. With the word" hybrid" splashed in silver across its side, the otherwise normal-looking train rolled quietly out of Nakagomi Station in Nagano Prefecture, powered by its four electric motors in a test run.  

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. The Kiha E-200,which seats 46 and can hold 117 people, including standees, debuted on a line that runs about once an hour on a 79-kilometerroute through a mountainous area.

Warm Regards form Kitakyushu City, Japan