A dual-mode vehicle (DMV) is a vehicle that can operate on conventional road surfaces as well as a

railway track A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleeper ...

or a dedicated track known as a " guideway". The development of these vehicles started together with

personal rapid transport Personal rapid transit (PRT), also referred to as podcars or guided/railed taxis, is a public transport mode featuring small low-capacity automated vehicles operating on a network of specially built guideways. PRT is a type of automated guideway ...

systems in 1950s or even earlier. Dual-mode vehicles are commonly electrically powered and run in dual-mode for power too, using batteries for short distances and low speeds, and track-fed power for longer distances and higher speeds. Dual-mode vehicles were originally studied as a way to make electric cars suitable for inter-city travel without the need for a separate engine. Dual-mode transit describes

transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...

systems in which dual-mode vehicles operate on both public

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types o ...

s and on a guideway; thus using two

modes of transport Mode of transport is a term used to distinguish between different ways of transportation or transporting people or goods. The different modes of transport are air, water, and land transport, which includes rails or railways, road and off-road t ...

. In a typical dual-mode transit system, private vehicles comparable to

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

s would be able to travel under driver control on the street, but then enter a guideway, which may be a specialized form of

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

monorail A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and " rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurat ...

, for automated travel over an extended distance. More recently, starting in the 1990s, several dual-mode

mass transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

systems have appeared, most notably a number of rubber tyred trams and

guided bus Guided buses are buses capable of being steered by external means, usually on a dedicated track or roll way that excludes other traffic, permitting the maintenance of schedules even during rush hours. Unlike trolleybuses or rubber-tired tra ...

es. The subset of dual-mode vehicles using conventional railtracks and roads are called

road–rail vehicle A road–rail vehicle or a rail–road vehicle is a dual-mode vehicle which can operate both on rail tracks and roads. They are also known as two-way vehicles (german: Zweiwegefahrzeug), hi-rail (from ''highway'' and ''railway'', or variation ...

Technology

Similar to

model trains Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...

, the ground level power supply is transported through the metal track to the vehicle. Because of the health risks with higher voltages in real systems, the power rail is only switched on when a vehicle is covering the section, to prevent

pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically. The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...

s from being injured. This system is used for

trams A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ar ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...

is called ''Alimentation par Sol'' .

Hybrid vehicle A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids. The basic princi ...

s differ from dual-mode vehicles because they may not be fed by another energy source during operation. Dual-mode systems under development include the TriTrack, the RUF, Roam Transport's CargoRail and

JR Hokkaido The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to using its official abbreviation of . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a sm ...

DMV. Dual-mode transit seeks to address a similar audience as

personal rapid transit Personal rapid transit (PRT), also referred to as podcars or guided/railed taxis, is a public transport mode featuring small low-capacity automated vehicles operating on a network of specially built guideways. PRT is a type of automated guideway ...

but with the capability to "travel the first and last miles off-guideway using onboard energy storage". A recent dual-mode transit system was put into operation on 25 December 2021 by Asa Seaside Railway Company in the

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

region.

Logistics

On the main urban arterial streets a catenary system may serve both public transport and freight forwarders. This has great synergic effects making the operation of trolleybuses more efficient because of the additional income from freight forwarders. The operation of dual-mode trucks is not bound to the electric system. The distance from the logistics center to the inner city is driven in a conventional way. Also, there is the possibility to reach all clients aside the catenary system.

Motivation

Cities with slow air exchange (inversion) and high emission figures (

particulate matter Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The te ...

PM₁₀, PM_2.5, NO_x, Ozone) caused by diesel-powered vehicles, need a way to reduce big pollution sources. Commercial diesel-fueled vehicles are prime targets because of their high NO_x and PM emissions caused by the lack of sufficient pollution controls. Dual-mode vehicles are also considered as a solution to the first-mile and last-mile problem. The same dual-mode vehicle can make the journey to and from a station using existing infrastructure.

References

External links

EV-World: "The DualMode EV Revolution"RUF Dual Mode Transport SystemsTriTrack Dual Mode Transport SystemsPuget Pullway
also about dual-way vehicle
MonoMobile DM Vehicle
* ttps://asatetu.com/en/ ASA Seaside Railway Corporation {{DEFAULTSORT:Dual-Mode Vehicle Public transport by mode

Technology

Logistics

Motivation

See also

References

External links