Japanese authorities are considering commissioning a Chinese transport system to take visitors up Mount Fuji, The Japan Times reports.
Yamanashi Prefecture had been considering a light railway but, at a press conference yesterday, Governor Kotaro Nagasaki scrapped that idea and held up the option of a hydrogen-powered bus-tram system developed by Chinese state-owned train-maker CRRC.
It has segmented carriages like a tram but runs on roads with rubber tyres.
Although it has a human operator, the system can steer itself using laser guidance to follow a “virtual rail” on the road.
A main attraction is that it doesn’t need tracks or electricity infrastructure.
However, the governor encouraged Japanese companies to compete with CRRC in providing a similar system.
- Watch CRRC’s video about the system here
“While paying due respect to the leading company, my wish is for Japanese firms to take up this project and it would be even better if their production base would be located in Yamanashi,” he said.
The prefecture wants a mass transit system because of an explosion of visitors to the mountain.
In recent summers, around 200,000 people have made the trek to the summit.
In 2021, the prefecture announced plans to build a light rail system to the “fifth station”, at 2,305m. At present, visitors can drive up a toll road to this point, after which they hike another 1,400m to the summit.
The cost of that system was put at $900m, and it would have significant technical and environmental challenges to overcome.
The bus-tram system could be installed in the 2030s.
Nagasaki said the next stage would be to carry out a feasibility study before consulting local people.
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