The whimsical bright pink colored train in the town of Takachiho, in Miyazaki prefecture, Japan is powered by biofuel made from ramen soup.
The train which has been the delight of tourists began functioning in August 2022 under the operation of the Takachiho Amaterasu Railway company. The railway company is known to operate its trains using biodiesel energy.
The biofuel is a mixture of discarded tempura oil, fat extracted from tonkatsu (a type of pork broth), and ramen soup, all restaurant leftovers. After a series of chemical processes have been performed on the mixture, it becomes, capable of powering the engine of the train
The actualization of this amazing feat is the brainchild of Masumi Nishida, the founder of Nishida Shoun Transportation Company located in the town of Shingu in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. This invention piqued the interest of the Takachiho Railway company because of its desire to operate its trains on environment-friendly fuel thereby leading to a collaboration between the two companies.
In June, a series of test runs commenced on the train of the railway company to determine the efficiency of the trains while running on biofuel. The biodiesel turned out to be powerful enough to move the fully loaded cars of the train uphill and its first official journey was on the 1st of August.
Therefore, as tourists delight in the beautiful scenery of mountains, rice fields, and LED light-decorated tunnels from the open rooftop of the bright pink train, they are also welcomed by the pleasant aroma of fried rice as the conductor blows bubbles from the train. A more appealing smell than the toxic fumes that previously emanated while diesel was in use.