Are working vehicles popular among children in your country?
In Japan, they are very popular. According to several popularity polls, police cars rank first, followed by fire engines, excavators, ambulances, and many others. A wide variety of picture books on working vehicles are also published for young children.
How about working vehicles that run on railway tracks?
To be honest, except for the famous “Dr. Yellow” on the Tokaido–Sanyo Shinkansen, railway working vehicles are not very well known, mainly because they tend to go unnoticed. Even so, curious children will quickly gather whenever an unusual railway vehicle appears. I recently witnessed such a scene near the Sakurajosui railyard on the Keio Line. I followed the children who had gathered there, and eventually found what they were looking at.
Please take a look at the photos—this is a rail grinder, the ROMILL 600DT, parked on a siding. Keio Electric Railway introduced the ROMILL 600DT from the German manufacturer Robel in January this year. With this addition, Keio became the first Japanese private railway company to operate a milling-type rail grinder. European manufacturers indeed have a strong presence in this field.
The ROMILL 600DT consists of two diesel-powered cars: “ROMILL Work” and “ROMILL Supply.”
The former includes a rail-milling unit with cemented-carbide tips, a polishing unit, and an inspection unit. The latter provides a workspace for replacing milling inserts and also houses a fuel tank.
Why did Keio introduce the ROMILL 600DT?
First, for safety: milling and grinding help prevent rail damage and provide passengers with a smoother, more comfortable ride. Second, for cost efficiency: maintaining rail surfaces properly can significantly reduce long-term maintenance expenses by preventing serious rail defects.
As a rail fan, I am genuinely fond of the ROMILL 600DT. Its blue-and-red two-tone body looked especially beautiful in the spring sunlight. I would love to watch it in operation someday, but that is quite difficult, as it usually works only after the last train has finished for the day. Moreover, Keio does not publish its operating schedule.
Even so, I hope the ROMILL 600DT continues to do great work behind the scenes.
