Japan's hybrid train hailed as the future of rail travel

[jpak]

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2823100.ece

It seems an unlikely venue for a potential revolution in public transport - a sleepy town in the lush, pine-carpeted mountains of rural Japan. But this is where travellers began paying yesterday to board the world's first hybrid train service.

The brightly coloured Hybrid Train E200 pulled quietly out of the station carrying about 100 passengers. It was waved off by cheering schoolchildren, a crew of traditional Taiko drummers and several ecstatic trainspotters.

Mikihiro Kobayashi, a 27-year-old engineer who took the day off work to see the E200's debut, said: "I love trains and wanted to check this one out for myself. I hope Japan exports it because the environment is becoming a big issue around the world."

Looking like a slightly sleeker version of the mechanical warhorses that ferry millions of Japanese to work and school every day, the train might pass unnoticed by the keenest trainspotter. But inside it is quieter than a conventional train, thanks to a battery-powered motor that powers it at low speeds.

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