Developing a Gauge-Changing EMU

The Japan Railways (JR) network is comprised of two track gauges: narrow gauge (1,067 mm) and standard gauge (1,435 mm). Due to this difference in gauge, Shinkansen trains and conventional trains cannot run on the same tracks, and, consequently, passengers are forced to transfer at intermediate junctions. A Gauge-Changing Train currently being developed changes its wheel gauge automatically while passing through a tapered transition track section, called the Gauge-Change Equipment. All axles of the Gauge-Changing Train are powered; thus it can transit between the two gauges completely under its own power without having to stop. A prototype three-car test train was built in 1998, and is now undergoing feasibility testing. High-speed performance tests and endurance tests have been completed overseas, attaining a maximum speed of 246 km/h and a cumulative running distance of about 600,000 km. Since the autumn of 2001, the train is undergoing performance testing on narrow gauge lines in Kyushu and Shikoku in Japan.