KiHa 285 series

The KiHa 285 series was a Japanese tilting diesel multiple unit intended to be operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company in an attempt to allow for both high speeds and low energy consumption compared to other similar sets. After the first set was delivered, further orders were canceled with JR Hokkaido intending for the set to be relegated to other uses; this was not pursued due to cost reasons and the set was ultimately scrapped without entering revenue service in 2017.
==History==
Design work for the KiHa 285 series commenced in April 2011. One set, designated HB901, was built and delivered to JR Hokkaido in early September 2014, but said company announced they were terminating the development and production of future sets on 10 September that year as the company had reassessed their priorities and wanted to focus more on safety than reduction of journey times. Whatever diesel multiple units that were to be replaced by KiHa 285 series sets were replaced by KiHa 261 series sets instead.
The set was first test run within the confines of Naebo Works, and was then moved to be test run on the Hakodate Main Line on 31 October 2014. Following the cancellation of further production, JR Hokkaido considered various ways to put the lone KiHa 285 series set to use, such as the conversion of the set into a dedicated track and overhead line inspection train; it was later revealed in April 2016 that such a conversion would be more expensive than purchasing a new dedicated train for the purpose due to the set's complex design.
The set was officially removed from JR Hokkaido's roster on 31 March 2015. JR Hokkaido considered selling the set but found no buyers. After sitting in storage at Naebo Works HB901 was scrapped in March 2017.
==Design==
The set incorporated a "compound tilting system", combining a pendular tilting system and an air suspension tilting system which allowed the train to tilt up to eight degrees.
==Specifications==
Construction was of stainless steel. The train used a rather novel MA (motor-assisted) hybrid system, where the conventional diesel prime mover was supplemented by batteries, inverters and electric motors.
Other than the above, little is known about the lone KiHa 285 series set.
==References==
*Wikipedia.org
Category:Diesel trainsets
Category:JR Group trains
Category:Unique locomotives
Category:Tilting trainsets
Category:Kawasaki locomotives