A road-rail vehicle is a vehicle which can operate both on rail tracks and a conventional road. They are also called hi-rail, from highway and rail, or variations such as high-rail, HiRail, Hy-rail, etc. They are often converted road vehicles, keeping their normal wheels with rubber tires, but fitted with additional flanged steel wheels for running on rails. The rail wheels are raised and lowered as needed. Purpose-built road-rail vehicles also exist.
Road-rail technology is believed to have been developed by Fairmont Railway Motors in the 1940s to improve flexibility of vehicle use. Fairmont's key product, motor section cars, limited the ability for maintenance crews to travel. Fairmont was bought by Harsco in the late 1980s.
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