No, this DMV isn’t a place where you take driving tests, but rather the world’s first dual-mode vehicle. This means that it not only functions on the road, but actual railroads as well. This bizarre vehicle made its public debut on Saturday in the Japanese town of Kaiyo in Tokushima Prefecture.
On normal roads, it looks like a normal minibus riding on standard rubber tires, but after arriving at an interchange, steel wheels descend from the its underbelly onto the rail track, transforming it into a train carriage. Where do the normal tires go? The train wheels lift the front tires off the track while the rear wheels stay down to propel it onto the railway. It’s capable of transporting up to 21 passengers at an average speed of 37 mph on rail and 62 mph on public roads.
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Photo credit: Reuters
This (DMV) can reach the locals (as a bus), and carry them onto the railway as well. Especially in rural areas with an ageing population, we expect it to be a very good form of public transport. It took as long as about 10 years to launch [the DMV service]. I’m full of emotion,” said Shigeki Miura, CEO of Asa Coast Railway company to Reuters.
