Hoping to match it’s success with hybrid cars, Japan is bringing hybrid trains to the world. This week, the first diesel-electric hybrid train is being put into commercial service, taking regular passengers on a short mountain route. “It’s part of our efforts to be green,” Yasuaki Kikuchi, a spokesman for the East Japan Railway Company explained.

Compared to cars, trains are actually a fairly green option and give out relatively few carbon emissions. However, reducing emissions is always a good thing and the East Japan Railway Company are not the only ones looking at hybrid power – Amtrak in America and Deustche Bahn AG in Germany are both said to be investigating the possibilities of hybrid trains.

One of the major obstacles to entry is cost. Although the new Japanese hybrid train, the Kiha E200, boasts of 20% better fuel efficiency with up to 60% reduced emissions, each train costs $1.7 million – that’s nearly twice what a standard train costs.

The Kiha E200 has a standard diesel engine; each car also has two electric motors along with lithium batteries on the roof. On standard terrain, the train is powered by the electric motors with the diesel engine only kicking in when the batteries run low or if the train needs to climb a hill. As the train slows down, the batteries are recharged. After the power is turned off, the motors continue to turn for a short period. This energy – wasted in a non-hybrid train – is used to recharge the batteries.

The Kiha E200 can seat 46 passengers and has a maximum capacity of 117 people. It is currently running on a 49 mile route through a mountain resort area about once an hour. The East Japan Railway will be collecting data on the train such as fuel consumption before they consider using the hybrid train on further routes.

The Railpower Technologies Corporation in North America have also developed a hybrid train. Name the Green Goat, it is used for moving freight cars in a rail-yard. However, hybrid trains are not on the agenda in the US with industry development focused more on cleaner fuels than hybrid technology. “Here in the US, we are not really looking at hybrid technology as replacing the locomotive,” Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Form explained. When contribute just 4% of transport-related carbon emissions in the US, perhaps their stance is understandable.

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