Jisho

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Noun, Suru verb, Intransitive verb
1. switchback (railway); zig zag
Wikipedia definition
2. Zig zag (railway)A railway zig zag, also called a switchback, is a way of climbing hills in difficult country with a minimal need for tunnels and heavy earthworks. For a short distance (corresponding to the middle leg of the letter "Z"), the direction of travel is reversed, before the original direction is resumed. A location on railways constructed e.g. to ascend very steep gradients by using a zig-zag alignment at which trains have to reverse direction in order to continue is a reversing station.
Read “Zig zag (railway)” on English Wikipedia
Read “スイッチバック” on Japanese Wikipedia
Read “Zig zag (railway)” on DBpedia

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