JAPAN | Urban Transport Compilation

[Woonsocket54]

They'll need to quadruple-track the Yamanote Line before even thinking of having people living on top of it.

[nouveau.ukiyo]

Well, the JR tracks along much of the Yamanote are quadrupled+ for much of it's length to accommodate the other lines the run parallel to it. I would imagine any plan to move the Yamanote line underground and use the land for housing would also include plans to underground the other JR lines that run parallel to it.

Anyway, I think part of the appeal of the Yamanote Line is the fact that it is above ground line.

To be honest, I can't imagine it'd ever happening. Building anything underground in Tokyo is a headache because there is so much underground already! Think of all the subway and underground train lines, road tunnels, flood and sewage tunnels, utility tunnels, etc. they would have to build around. I remember watching a TV show about a new underground highway in Tokyo; the first phase is only a short section from near Shibuya to Shinjuku, but ~8-9 subway/train lines pass under and over it! They had to engineer the tunnel so as not to hit all the other tunnels; there's even a point where they built the road tunnel in between two subway lines; one directly above and one directly below at the same point! And then the show turned to the issue of earthquakes; what will happen to the layers of tunnels under Tokyo in the event of 'the big one'? So I can imagine just thinking about putting the Yamanote Line underground is enough to make engineers' and cash strapped politicians' and railway executives' minds explode!

[k.k.jetcar]

Similarly, the Fukutoshin Line tunnel is spaced only a few centimeters away from existing subway line tunnels in some locations. If the Yamanote Line were to be undergrounded, the tunnel may have to be built do deeply that it would have detrimental effects on convenience- a business claiming (for example) a two minute walk from xxxx station on the Yamanote Line may have to change that to six minutes.

[Woonsocket54]

I don't think the article talked about putting Yamanote Line underground.

[quashlo]

Yeah, I should probably fix the title on that post.
They'd really just building over it, the same way they are currently doing at the South Exit of Shinjuku Station. They wouldn't have to do much digging, but there'd be a lot of shifting of tracks laterally to make way for columns for the buildings above. I'm not sure how practical this is along the entire length of the line between Ueno and Shinagawa, but I suppose they could just not build on the parts where they have difficulty securing enough ROW.

Even if they really wanted to underground the Yamanote Line, there's other factors in addition to the ones mentioned above... Most notable is what to do with the segment running parallel with the Keihin-Tōhoku Line, where there are cross-platform transfers. Do you underground just the Yamanote Line or do you underground both? Plus, JR East has already made a commitment to install platform doors... I doubt the platforms will be going anywhere anytime soon.

The biggest motivation for undergrounding is grade-separation, and there are much higher-priority segments on other lines. The Yamanote Line has one grade crossing in Nakazato, between Komagome and Tabata, but the rest of it is completely grade-separated.

There's still quite a few major trunk lines into / out of Tōkyō that are nowhere close to being fully grade-separated. (This is only Tōkyō Prefecture... Kanagawa, Chiba, and Saitama are excluded from the graphic). In particular, the Seibu Shinjuku Line, Tōbu Tōjō Line, and Keiō Line have substantial segments that are not completely grade-separated. In addition, this graphic doesn't show it, but the Tōkaidō Line / Keihin‒Tōhoku Line between Shinagawa and Yokohama is a complete mess, as there's at least a few grade crossings about 8-10 tracks long, if I remember correctly.


Source: Tōkyō Metropolitan Government

[quashlo]

New subway line connecting Narita, Haneda airports eyed
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/travel/news/2...dm027000c.html

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The transport ministry is considering launching a new subway line connecting downtown Tokyo directly to Narita and Haneda airports, officials said Wednesday.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism also plans to launch Shin-Tokyo Station, which will be built next to Tokyo Station, the officials said.

It is expected to facilitate the transfer of tourists from the airports to Tokyo's central area, as well as to other areas of Japan via bullet trains departing from Tokyo Station.

It will take 37 minutes by limited express from Shin-Tokyo Station to Narita airport, Japan's largest international gateway near Tokyo, and 22 minutes to Haneda airport, reducing the traveling time by 13 minutes and 3 minutes, respectively.

It will also reduce the traveling time between the two airports by 33 minutes to 59 minutes, they said.

The new 11-kilometer line will be created as a bypass line on the existing Toei Asakusa line and connect Oshiage and Sengakuji stations.

Roughly 10 million people are expected to use the new line every year, and the total cost of the project is estimated at 400 billion yen, they said.

The government, railway operator and Tokyo metropolitan government are each expected to cover one third of the cost, but the Tokyo government has not agreed with the amount of contribution, saying the central government should bear a greater cost.

Not sure why the Asakusa Line bypass is suddenly getting a lot of press time again… Some other articles indicate there may be some private financing involved, but I’m not convinced that’s so newsworthy. Of course, it may just be that the MLIT is announcing a more solid commitment to move forward with the line. The only other thing I can think of is the future Yamanote Line station and redevelopment of Tamachi Car Center, which will both be fairly close to Sengakuji Station, where the bypass will tie into the existing Asakusa Line and Keikyū Main Line.

The bypass will definitely add even more character to the line for railfans (and headaches for train schedulers), as Skyliner trains will be running on the bypass line and onto the Keikyū Line to Haneda.

Sengakuji Station action (2011.04), showing the endless variety of rolling stock including Toei Subway, Keikyū, Hokusō, and Narita Sky Access trains.

[dumbfword]

With Japan's population decline. Will any subway lines be fully automated like some lines in Barcelona, Paris, and Singapore?

[Woonsocket54]

All those level crossings on high-frequency lines. How does that even work? Pedestrians get 10 seconds every 10 minutes to do their dance?

[quashlo]

More or less. I think I posted this a while ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D28UOcUdBU

If it’s really bad, there’s usually some alternative way to get around… Either taking a pedestrian bridge over the tracks, passing through the station, etc. It's maybe not ideal, but people need train service, and the cost of grade-separation is astronomical... You're basically replacing entire sections of lines, including stations (in some cases twice because you have to move things to temporary tracks and platforms before you can even begin work on the permanent facilities).

Originally Posted by dumbfword

With Japan's population decline. Will any subway lines be fully automated like some lines in Barcelona, Paris, and Singapore?

Eh, I doubt you will see driverless trains… Japan has them, but only for AGT (“new transit”) like Yurikamome, Nippori–Toneri Liner, Kōbe Port Liner, etc. The trend with regular trains is mostly to move to one-man operations—i.e., eliminating the conductor at the rear—but even then, it’s only on really small rural lines and such. If it’s done on a major line, it’s usually coupled with platform doors, just like Tōkyō Metro is doing.

[quashlo]

Sumitomo and Nippon Sharyō receive VRE order for up to 50 commuter railcars
http://www.sumitomocorp.com/Who-We-A...xpress-Awards/

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, February 16, 2012--- On February 15, 2012, Sumitomo Corporation of America in conjunction with its car builder partner Nippon Sharyo, received a contract award from Virginia Railway Express (VRE) for 50 Gallery-type Bi-level Passenger Cars. The base order is to supply 8 cars at a contract price of $21 million and is scheduled to be delivered in 2014. This contract includes an option for VRE to purchase up to an additional 42 cars. If the option is exercised, the total contract would amount to $119 million. VRE will use the cars procured through this contract to update its fleet by replacing some of their older cars and adding more cars to handle their increase in ridership.

The gallery-type bi-level passenger car is a unique type of bi-level car which has open space between the two sides of the upper deck and allows ticket collectors to check tickets on both levels from the bottom level. Sumitomo Corporation of America with Nippon Sharyo has already delivered a total of 71 passenger cars to VRE. Moreover, a total of 643 gallery-type bi-level passenger cars has already been supplied by Sumitomo Corporation of America and Nippon Sharyo in the U.S.

Sumitomo Corporation of America and Nippon Sharyo have been supplying commuter rail cars, including Electric Multiple Units (EMUs) in the North American market since the 1980s. In the 30 year period, they have delivered approximately 900 cars.

In October 2010, Nippon Sharyo strengthened its long commitment to the North American marketplace and announced the establishment of their own passenger railcar production facility in Rochelle, Illinois. With an investment that will increase its competitiveness in the North American market, the new VRE cars will be manufactured at this U.S. production facility. This order is in addition to the 160 gallery-type EMUs for Metra in Illinois, 12 single-level Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) for Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) in California and 18 single-level DMUs for Metrolinx in Toronto, Canada, already scheduled for production when the facility opens.

Sumitomo has 50 years of contract management experience in bringing transportation systems to life. As a prime contractor, the company has developed, managed and delivered transit systems for Chicago's Metra, the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, the Maryland Mass Transit Administration, California's CALTRANS Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, the Los Angeles County MTA, the Virginia Railway Express, and will begin the delivery of DMUs to SMART and Metrolinx at the end of 2013. Sumitomo has supplied Automated People Mover (APM) systems for the Washington Dulles International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Miami International Airport.

Sumitomo globally has been involved in building various types of transit systems around the world, including light rail systems in Manila, Philippines, people mover systems at Hong Kong’s new airport at Chek Lap Kok, and other systems in Japan.

About Nippon Sharyo
Nippon Sharyo, founded in 1896, has manufactured railroad vehicles for more than 100 years and has annual sales of over $1,200 million. A world leader in the manufacturing of the Gallery-type car, the company also owns the largest market share of Japanese “Shinkansen” bullet train sets.

About Sumitomo Corporation of America
Established in 1952, and headquartered in New York City, Sumitomo Corporation of America (SCOA) has 10 offices in major U.S. cities. SCOA is the largest wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, one of the world's leading traders of goods and services. As an integrated business enterprise, the firm has emerged as a major organizer of multinational projects, an expediter of ideas, an important international investor and financier, and a powerful force for distribution of products and global communications through a network of offices worldwide. For more information visit www.sumitomocorp.com.

[quashlo]

Cairo Metro Line 3 opened today (2012.02.21).
This line uses cars manufactured by Kinki Sharyō and Tōshiba as part of a Mitsubishi-led consortium. If I remember correctly, these first 52 cars were manufactured in Japan... The rest will be produced locally in Egpyt.

Video news reports (Japanese only):
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/2012...192351000.html
http://www.fnn-news.com/news/headlin...N00217746.html

[quashlo]

And some info on another big car order, the DC Metro 7000 series being manufactured by Kawasaki. I think there were some delays last year due to the earthquake and tsunami, but it seems that those have all been ironed out.

http://unsuckdcmetro.blogspot.com/20...ake-shape.html

[castermaild55]

[quashlo]

Pretty good summary... It brings up some points which I've always wholeheartedly agreed with and think will invariably make things much easier for first-timers:

1. Remember that there are multiple operators. Just because you cannot find your destination on the farechart does not mean there isn't another operator at the same station that will take you directly to where you want to go. Best is to have your own map with everything on it (JR + subways + private railways).
2. Always check for the exit / transfer signs. It will generally save you A LOT of trouble.
3. Get a prepaid IC card (Suica or PASMO) so you never have to worry about trying to figure out what the fare is.

[Northridge]

Nice video.

What's the reason for the two travel cards Passmo and Suica? Is there any difference between them?

[loefet]

The Suica is JR East card and PASMO is the private operators card. They are completely interchangeable, except for commuting tickets, where each card is only valid for it's own network.
But if you don't live in Japan, then a Suica card is the one to go for, since it's also interchangeable with all other JR cards and other.

[k.k.jetcar]

Suica is JR East's IC card system, while Pasmo is the IC card system for the consortium of Kanto Region private railways and bus systems. They are interchangeable on most services in the Kanto region. However, if you have a choice, I would get Suica, as it can be used interchangeably with IC cards in other regions, for example Toica, Icoca, Kitaca, and Sugoca.

[Northridge]

Thanks.

I just watch the 5 Centimeters Per Second movie and I enjoyed it very much. Is there some other movies with trains/metro in it?

[castermaild55]

[postech]

просрали гонку технологий Японии, это очевидно