Kinkisharyo readies hybrid streetcar debut

On Jan. 20, Charlotte, N.C., will host the official U.S. unveiling of “the first 100% low-floor, electro-hyrid streetcar engineered for North America’s sustainable cities” by Kinkisharyo, according to Kinkisharyo.

The ceremony, scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m., will occur at Charlotte Area Transit System’s (CATS) 9th Street Station, currently served by the city’s heritage trolley and expected to be added to the CATS light rail system with the planned Blue Line Extension/Northeast Corridor project.

Charlotte is one of several U.S. cities pondering installation of streetcars in addition to, or sometimes instead of, light rail transit options.

Kinkisharyo says its LFX-300 prototype hybrid streetcar (at left) can be powered both by conventional overhead wire and also over short stretches of route on battery power. The dual-mode prototype is meant to address situations where overhead wire is impractical or otherwise not desired by local authorities; Washington, D.C. has struggled to reintroduce streetcars, particularly in the Capitol Hill area, in large part due to such concerns.