EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru HIRATA; Shojiro KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA
EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA
Minoru HIRATA; Director of 3rd Construction Division Construction Department Railway Construction Headquarters JRTT
Shoujirou KAMITOMO, Staff 3rd Construction Division Construction Department Railway Construction Headquarters JRTT
Yuichiro KIMURA, Staff 1st Transport Research and Planning Division Planning Department Railway Construction Headquaters Tokyo Regional Bureau JRTT
JRTT (Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency)
1. INTRODUCTION
Recently, importance of railway transport for enhancing urban appeal and revitalizing cities has been growing more than ever. It is said that collaboration between urban development and railway development is important in order to have railways help improving functions of the city. In the past development, a project owner of urban development and a planner/operator of railway service did not always share the same objectives and collaborate on their project planning and following processes in a coordinated manner. However, as the needs for urban redevelopment grow recently, an increasing number of projects with an appropriate level of collaboration between urban development and transit service are found in construction of new railway lines and development of areas around existing stations. Due to raised awareness in environmental issues in recent years, use of railway services, which is one of environmentally-friendly means of transport and an option in modal shift, has been attracting more and more attentions. Tsukuba Express (hereafter referred to as “TX”) opened in August 2005 is a new railway service, which was developed in accordance with “the unified promotion of land countermeasures and the development of transportation access and enacted the Special Measure Act for the Unified Promotion of Housing and Railway Development in Urban Areas” (hereafter referred to as “the Unification Act”). Development and improvement of stations connecting to other transport, station plazas aligned and creation of additional residential lands with the Unification Act, and improved customer convenience including more rapid trains have driven revitalization of the areas along TX line, leading to a steady increase of passengers since the opening of the line.
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
1 EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru HIRATA; Shojiro KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA This document is to report the method of developing urban rapid railway transit through collaboration between development of residential area along the line and railway project and to present the attribution analysis on the steady growth in transported passengers and impact on various collaboration effects as an ex-post evaluation of the TX line, referring to some findings from a questionnaire survey and passenger data.
2. PROCESS OF SYSTEM INTRODUCTION
1) Development of a transportation system in northeast part of the metropolitan area
In the course of rapid economic growth started in 1960’s, residents in the Tokyo area were significantly increased. Contributed by migration to outside of the area, both time and distance to commute to school or work became longer very rapidly and a commuting area was expanded to a circle with 100 km radius. Under such circumstances, railway service as a mean of passenger transport connecting the northeast part of the metropolitan area and downtown Tokyo was solely depending on JR Joban line (see Figure 1), and therefore, the Joban line was incredibly crowded (congestion rate: over 200%). Not only a reduction of the conditions in the metropolitan area but also more radical solution for less crowded transportation was needed in order for smooth progress of the society and economy.
Ibaraki prefecture
JR Joban Line
Saitama prefecture
Chiba prefecture
Tokyo
JR line Private railway
Figure 1 – Railway map of northeast part of the metropolitan area
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
2 EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru HIRATA; Shojiro KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA Although the northeast part of the metropolitan area has some residential areas with stable population due to progress of housing development, railway services for commute to school or work were not fully developed there, leaving the region a “trainless” area. Figure 2 shows accessible areas from downtown of the metropolitan area in certain periods of time. It demonstrates that the northeast part of the Metropolitan area does not have any good access to railway transportation in a radial direction.
Year 2000 Tsukuba
Otemachi St Required time to travel (Tokyo) (minutes)
Figure 2 – Accessible areas from Ootemachi (Tokyo) station in certain periods of time
Taking the situation into consideration, the TX line was planned to run a route to cross the trainless area so that the extremely crowded railway service of existing lines, including JR Joban line, was improved, with an expectation to provide better comfort to train commuters to school or work as well as improved transport customer convenience in the northeast part of the metropolitan area.
2) Encouragement to expand housing supply in the metropolitan area
In the metropolitan area during the period of rapid economic growth, people faced a severe difficulty in purchasing their residents in the area due to sharp increase in land prices. The northeast part of the metropolitan area has the city of Tsukuba, an academic urban where a large number of national research and development institutes are located. However, no direct railway line connecting the city and downtown Tokyo so far existed. By directly connecting the city and central Tokyo, the TX project aimed for development of a core city for various researches and businesses to modify overconcentration in the metropolitan Tokyo coordinated with enhancement of more housing supply.
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
3 EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru HIRATA; Shojiro KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA 3) Problems in railways development
Development of residential area
In the previous railway construction projects to connect downtown Tokyo and a suburban area, collaboration between developers of residential area along the line and planner and operator of the railway service was not well established. The poor collaboration caused delays in development of residential land, stations connected to other lines, and station plazas, resulted in worse customer convenience including less convenient transportation access. Not a few disorganized processes, for example, some farmlands left undeveloped for a long period of time due to an expectation for more increase in land price in the future, were causing compromised customer convenience. Such delays in residential development projects and disorganized development prevented the area along the railway from getting a faster growth of stable population, and the smaller-than-expected number of actual railway users obstructed a balance sheet of the train operator from being profitable in its railway business.
Stable population
A railway construction project with a view to develop residential areas along the line connecting downtown Tokyo and a suburban area requires a vast amount of construction cost. In addition, with a small demand by passengers at the early stage of the residential land development and a considerably long period of time required to grow the demand, such project has to face a difficulty in achieving sufficient profitability in the railway business or other heavy factors of uncertainties such as delays in the development. Considering the above, it is a project which is unlikely to be completed solely by a private railway operator.
Railway construction funding
In a new rail construction project, where no revenue is expected during the construction period, neither principal nor interest can be paid off until the rail service starts operating. If the payable interest during the construction accumulates and snowballs the interest-bearing liabilities, operating profit of the company would not be even enough to cover the interest. Such financial conditions may eventually force the rail operator to increase its fares, resulting in lower level of railway services.
Acquisition of land for railways
In some cases, projects face difficulty in land acquisition because of negotiation with land owners who do not accept the offer. This causes delay in the project schedule, resulting in increase of interest burden. It could make the railway business unprofitable.
In order to solve such problems, the TX project was designed to be based on a new scheme including “the Unification Act” and be carried out through the development of improved
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
4 EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru HIRATA; Shojiro KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA access to transport coordinated with further housing supply in the northern part of the metropolitan area.
3. DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCHEME
1) The Unification Act
In order for prevention of delays in development of residential area along the line and unorganized development of the area as well as for facilitation of easier acquisition of planned railway sites, the Unification Act sets out the following.
1. Local governments (e.g. Tokyo metropolitan government, Ibaraki prefecture government) engaged in the development of residential area along the relevant railway line are required to take initiative in the project and fully collaborate with the national government, railway operator(s), construction companies to make well- organized coordination among them, in order to advance the residential land development in accordance with the progress of the railways development.
2. Each of the relevant local governments is required to formulate a basic action plan to make comprehensive advancement of the project, designate a focus area and specific region for a certain purpose, establish a council to hold talks among municipalities in the region and land reallocation project operators, and make adequate discussions required for the urban development and railways construction.
3. The act includes a specific mechanism of a coordinated land reallocation project to facilitate smoother acquisition of railway sites.
Figure 3 shows an overview of the coordinated land reallocation project. Using the mechanism, even in the case that acquisition of the planned railway sites ran into troubles, the sites could be acquired earlier and more securely than other means, by way of integrated substitution of land lots as far as there are enough lands already purchased in the section of the rail development. It makes it possible to reduce time to complete the project and drive the development of the urban residential area coordinated with development of railways service.
2) Financial support for railway construction
In order for stable operation of the railway business, the TX project took advantage of a subsidy program, in which approximately 80% of the construction cost (40% by national government and 40% by local governments) is loaned at a nil rate of interest as a biannual amortizable loan with equal installments over 35 years including a 5-year period of deferment. Using the support program, the initial investment burden incurred by the railway operator and a proportion of loan interests were successfully reduced. (The remaining 20% of the construction cost was financed by private investments and other sources.)
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
5 EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru HIRATA; Shojiro KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA First Phase Applicable area Railway facilities construction area 1. Designate a railway facilities construction area.
2. To produce residential sites, public facilities sites, and railway sites, a developer of residential area along the new rail line and railway operator purchase some lands in the applicable area
Already purchased sites purchased Already in advance. Already purchased sites (the sites may be outside of the railway facilities construction area)
Second Phase Railway facilities construction area 3. The land reallocation project coordinated with rail development is approved and land use purposes are determined. 4. The sites purchased in advance are transferred into Integrated substitution the railway facilities of land lots Integrated substitution construction area by way of of land lots integrated land substitution.
Third Phase Commercial facilities 5. In the stage where development of the railway and public facilities has progressed, construction of buildings starts. Additional New station Park facilities for public interests are also developed, leading to completion of integrated urban development.
Residential sites
Figure 3 – An image of the integrated land readjustment project
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
6 EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru HIRATA; Shojiro KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA 3) Tax break
In the TX development project, specifically for the purpose to allow the railway operator to bear lower burden in its initial years of new railway service, a tax break was provided to lower taxable basis for property tax to 25% in the initial 5 years and to 50% between the 6th and 10th years.
4) Establishment of rail operator based on third sector scheme
The original TX railway project was planned and investigated as a part of an expanded Joban line project (the Second Joban line) of Japanese National Railways. However, as the railway company was privatized in 1987 to become Japan Railways (JR), some concerns over a vast amount of financing and management risks emerged. Therefore, it was determined that the TX project should be developed based on a third sector scheme mainly funded by local municipalities. In March 1991, a third-sector company called “Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company” financed by local governments of Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Ibaraki and other municipalities along the line was established to start the project. The MIR holds assets and properties as a railway business operator and is responsible for operating trains. The 40% of the entire construction cost to be financed by the local public bodies was shared among them as shown below, proportionate to the number of stations in each municipality (see Figure 4, Tokyo: Saitama: Chiba: Ibaraki = 4: 1: 2: 3).
(100 Million Yen) 4 : 1 : 2 : 3 1,400 $14.21,280 B 1,200 $10.7 B 1,000 960
800 $7.2647 B 600
400 $2.3213 B 200 $0.6559 B $0.5348 B 0 東京都Tokyo Saitama埼玉県 Yashio八潮市 City Misato三郷市 City Chiba千葉県 Ibaraki茨城県
Distance 13.2km (23%) 7.3km (13%) 13.5km (24%) 24.3km (40%) Number of station 7 (35%) 2 (10%) 5 (25%) 6 (30%) Figure 4 – Proportion of no-interest loans provided by local governments (40% of total construction cost; $3.5 billion)
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
7 EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru HIRATA; Shojiro KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA 4. OVERVIEW OF TX PROJECT AND DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA
1) Construction project overview
The construction of TX was started in October 1994, having Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation (currently called Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency) as its main constructor. Contributed by the impact of the Unification Act on the sites acquisitions completed in a scheduled period of time, the construction project was completed to allow the opening of the new express service in August 2005, as originally planned. The construction cost amounted to approximately 810 billion yen ($9 billion), reduced by 130 billion yen ($1.4 billion) from the original plan due to some beneficial technical developments and other factors.
2) Planning Route
The basic route plan was determined to fulfill the conditions ・connect between the metropolitan area and Tsukuba within 60 minutes; ・the new railway line must be connected to existing railway lines; ・an increase in transportation demand is expected; ・the railway development must be coordinated with the land development plan around the station fully utilizing intended purpose of the land use in the area; and ・a grade separated crossing must be built for any crossing with a road or any other constructs in the entire railway line.
As a result, it was determined that the new express line extending to a total distance of 58 km between Akihabara and Tsukuba would have 20 new stations, including 7 stations connected to existing lines (see Table 1, Figure 5). Akihabara is an area positioned as an important hub for global ICT industry in terms of urban policy of Tokyo metropolitan government, while Tsukuba is an academic city where a great number of national research institutes are intensively located. It was expected that connecting the two regions, Akihabara and Tsukuba, would establish core cities for research and business and further lead to improvement of overconcentration in the metropolitan area due to expected creation of new industrial infrastructure along the line.
Table 1 – Standards of TX Total rail route distance 58.3km Gauge 1,067mm Number of stations 20 stations Type of railway Electrified double track railway Block system ATC, ATO Number of cars 6 cars (planned to be 8 cars)
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
8 EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru HIRATA; Shojiro KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA
TUKUBA Kenkyu-gakuen Tsukuba Ibaraki prefecture NARITA Banpaku-kinenkoen TX Line Midorino TOKYO Miraidaira
HANEDA Moriya JR Joban Line Saitama prefecture Kashiwa-Tanaka Kashiwanoha- Nagareyama- campus otakanomori
Nagareyama- Minami-Nagareyama cenralpark
Yashio Misato-chuo
Rokucho Chiba Aoi prefecture Kita-Senju Tokyo Minami-Senju
Shin-Okachimachi Asakusa
Akihabara
Figure 5 – Route map of the TX railway
3) Maximum speed and operation plans
Aiming to improve time to travel between the metropolitan Tokyo and the academic town of Tsukuba, an ATC (Automatic train control) signaling method, which was equivalent to the mechanism for Shinkansen (bullet train), was adopted to allow a maximum speed of 130 km/h. The following figure shows a comparison of scheduled speed between TX and other railways (see Figure 6). While the scheduled speed of other lines is mostly around 50 to 60 km/h, the speed of TX (rapid train) is 78km/h, demonstrating its outstandingly high speed compared to others. Figure 7 shows an operation plan and Number of trains per day. To improve railway service, TX has revised diagram 4 times so far.
4) Feature of structure
The overall structure of the TX is designed to run underground in Tokyo and mostly on elevated tracks from Saitama prefecture to the north, without having any level crossing in the entire line. Every station has automated platform gates to prevent train users from dropping from the platform, securing higher safety of passengers (see Figures 8 and 9). The safety measure has reduced disturbances in transport, contributing to safer passenger transit.
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
9 EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru HIRATA; Shojiro KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA
Tsukuba Express 78km/h つくばエクスプレス〔快速〕(rapid train) Keihin Electric Express Railway 京浜急行〔快特〕 (rapid train) 64km/h JR Sobu Line 60km/h ＪＲ総武線〔快速〕 (rapid train) Keisei Electric Railway 58km/h ＪＲ常磐線〔快速〕(rapid train) Keio Railway - Keio Line 54km/h 京成電鉄〔快速〕 (express train) Tokyu Railway - Toyoko Line 54km/h 京王電鉄 京王線〔特急〕 (express train) Tokyu Railway - Toyoko Line 52km/h 東急電鉄 東横線〔特急〕 (express train) Seibu西武鉄道 新宿線〔急行〕 Railway - Shinjuku Line 52km/h (express train) Tobu東武鉄道 伊勢崎線〔快速〕 Railway - Isezaki Line 48km/h (rapid train) 小田急電鉄 小田原線〔急行〕Odakyu Electric Railway 48km/h – Odawara Line 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Figure 6 – A comparison of scheduled speed between different railways in the Metropolitan area
Rapid service 34 0 2 4 7 10 20 25 32 45
Semi-Rapid service 47 0 2 4 7 10 17 20 23 26 30 35 40 43 46 49 52 Accommodation (Minute) service 95 0 2 4 7 10 13 15 19 22 25 28 30 33 36 40
Akihabara Akihabara Shin Asakusa Min Kita Aoi Rokucho Yashio Misato Minami park central Nagareyama Nagareyama Kashiwanoha Kashiwa Moriya Mirai Midorino B Kenkyu Tsukuba
(Number/day) anpaku
ami
-
-
senju
-
okachimachi
daira daira
-
- -
chuo
-
senju nagareyama
gakuen
-
tanaka
koen kinen
-
-
otakanomori
campus
Figure 7 – Operation plan and number of trains Source: Website of Metropolis Inter-city Railway Co. (as of December 2006)
Figure 8 –TX train running at high speed on the line without being disturbed by anyホ level crossing (Left), Figure 9 –Automated Platform Gate at Aoi Station (Right)
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
10 EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru HIRATA; Shojiro KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA
5. IMPACT OF THE RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT
1) Development of transport system in northeast part of the Metropolitan area
The number of TX user and congestion mitigation of existing line
Figure 10 shows the number of passengers transported in a day. The number has shown a steady increase since the TX line opened, amounting to 272 thousands on average in the first half of 2009. It is expected that the 2010 target (270 thousand/day) is going to be achieved a year earlier.
(unit: thousand)
21年度（上期）FY 2009 (first half)
FY 200820年度
FY 20019年度7
FY 20018年度6
FY 20017年度5
0.00 5.050 10010.0 15.0150 20020.0 25025.0 30030.0 * The red line indicates estimated number of passengers Figure 10 – Changes in transported passengers (average passengers per day)
Figure 11 – A scene of the Akihabara station during commuter transporting time zone
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
11 EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru HIRATA; Shojiro KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA According to closing financial statements for the fiscal year 2008, operating income was 33.4 billion yen ($0.37 billion) and operating expense was 33 billion yen ($0.36 billion) (including 19.7 billion yen ($0.22 billion) of depreciation), with surplus of 0.4 billion yen ($4 million) operating profit. These figures show that the financial condition is stable due to good number of transported passengers and effective subsidy programs. Meanwhile, after the opening of the TX line which connects the northeast part of the metropolitan area with the downtown Tokyo, significant number of passenger of JR Joban line have shifted their transport mode to the new line, resulting in lower concentration on the JR Joban line and decrease of congestion rate of the line at peak hour from 180% (2004) to 160% (2008) (See Figure 12). This means that the launch of the TX service has contributed to making the trains in northeast part of the metropolitan area less crowded.
Train users between two neighboring stationsTX通過人員（人/h） of TX line (users/hour) Train常磐線通過人員（人/h） users between two neighboring stations of Joban line (users/hour) CongestiTX混雑率（％）on rate of TX line (%) Congestion常磐線混雑率（％） rate of Joban line (%)
45,000 250 Target運政審19号答申目標値（180％） from recommendation No.19 of Council 40,000 for Transport Policy (180%)
35,000 200 30,000 25,000 150 20,000
(users/hour) 15,000
通過人員（人/h） 10,000 100 OpeningTX開業 of TX 5,000 0 50
Number of train users between two neighboring stations 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Fiscal Year 年度 Figure 12 – Changes in number of passing passenger in a peak hour and congestion rate (TX and rapid train of Joban line)
Improved customer convenience a. Reduced travel time
Figure 13 shows a time-reduction effect which the TX railway construction has given to the travel time from Akihabara station. The most prominent impact on the time reduction is seen in the Tsukuba area. In the area, there was no railway network before the TX project was launched, and the residents had to take an express bus or a local bus to a station on the JR Joban line in order to travel to the direction towards downtown Tokyo. However, the opening of the new express train service made a direct access from Tsukuba station to the downtown available, which contributed to the significant time reduction.
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
12 EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru HIRATA; Shojiro KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA
東京駅までの所要時間（単位：分）Time reduction effect (unit: minute) (from（秋葉原駅～つくば駅） Akihabara to Tsukuba) 0 -20 - 0 研究学園研究学園 -40 - -20 Kenkyu-gakue研究学園研究学園n つくばつくば -60 - -40 Tsukuba - -60 Banpaku-kinenkoen万博記念公園万博記念公園
Midorinoみどりのみどりの
Kanto Tet sudo Line みらい平みらい平 Miraidaira
春日部春日部
Moriya守谷守谷
Tobu Noda Line Kashiwa-Tanaka 柏たなか柏たなか
取手取手 柏の葉ｷｬﾝﾊﾟｽ柏の葉ｷｬﾝﾊﾟｽ 取手取手Toride Kashiwanoha-campus 南越谷南越谷 Nagareyama-otakanomori流山おおたかの森流山おおたかの森 柏柏 浦和浦和 柏柏 Nagareyama-centralpark流山ｾﾝﾄﾗﾙﾊﾟｰｸ流山ｾﾝﾄﾗﾙﾊﾟｰｸ Minami-Nagareyama 南流山南流山 Misato三郷中央-三郷中央chuo 新松戸新松戸
Yashio八潮八潮
Rokucho 六町六町 松戸松戸 赤羽赤羽 新鎌ヶ谷新鎌ヶ谷 Aoi青井青井
Kita-Senju北千住北千住 北千住北千住
Minami-Senju南千住南千住 池袋池袋 市川市川 Asakusa 浅草浅草上野上野 Shin-Okachimachi新御徒町新御徒町 新御徒町新御徒町 船橋船橋 Akihabara秋葉原秋葉原 船橋船橋 新宿新宿 東京東京 0 5 10 渋谷渋谷 Kilometers
品川品川 * Travel time = Traveling time on trains + time to change trains + access/ingress time 千葉千葉 Figure 13 – Effect of the opening of the Tsukuba Express to reduce the travel time
Next, Figure 14 shows time to travel from Tsukuba station to Tokyo station in different means of transportation. Compared to the TX railway, other means of transportation required additional time for about 30 minutes and, in fact, the extra time could be even longer due to traffic congestion. Considering such factors, the TX trains are highly effective in terms of not only shorter time to travel but also reliability in arrival time. A large time-reduction effect is also seen along Kanto Railway line. Before the TX line was constructed, people who were heading to the direction towards the downtown Tokyo had to firstly take a Kanto Railway train to Toride station of JR Joban line to change trains. However, the new express train service has allowed train passengers to change trains at Moriya station without taking an extra route to Toride station, resulted in the shortened travel time. In addition, the user-friendliness for the passengers changing trains at TX stations connected to other lines seems to have further
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
13 EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru HIRATA; Shojiro KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA contributed to the reduced time to travel. For the similar reasons, favorable time-reduction effect is also seen along Tobu Noda line.
(Route 1)
Figure 15 shows an accessible range from Otemachi (Tokyo) after the opening of TX (2005). Almost entire section of the TX is within the range, and even the furthermost Tsukuba station requires only 65 minutes at the shortest. The launch of the TX service has released some area from the “trainless” problem and the transport system in the northeast part of the metropolitan area was improved and well organized.
2000 Tsukuba 2005 Tsukuba
TX
Otemachi St Otemachi St (Tokyo) (Tokyo)
Required time to travel
Figure 15 – Changes in accessible areas within 60 minutes from Ootemachi(Tokyo) station Figure 15 – Changes in accessible areas within 60 minutes from Otemachi (Tokyo) station
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
14 EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru HIRATA; Shojiro KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA 2) Encouragement to expand housing supply and development of residential area along the line in the metropolitan area
Overview of development of residential area along the line
In accordance with the Unification Act, land reallocation projects for total area of 3,200 ha over the metropolitan area are currently underway. The residential area development is different from prior projects, such as creation of a “new town” in a suburb to ease overconcentration of population in metropolis, in which a great number of developments were concentrated in a limited area. In the new project, the residential areas for the development are distributed in a long range along the TX line, providing a variety of residential environment meeting characteristics of the area. Figure 16 shows a couple of photos of Miraidaira station before and after the land reallocation project and the photo of 5 years after the opening. By comparing the photos, the organized development of the area is well understood. As a part of the coordinated development, a bus station was established at each train station of the line and the bus lines in the area were reorganized in time for the opening of the new express railway line, aiming to attract more users. Even after the opening, the number of bus services and new routes has been continuously increased along with the progress of the station area development. Currently, all the 20 stations are accessed by regularly operated busses. Compared to the original plans, needs for a great deal of suburban residential land were relatively reduced due to falling of land prices and other factors. However, such suburban residences are still going to be needed considering the facts that concentration of population in metropolitan Tokyo and Tokyo area is expected to continue and many people seek for a more comfortable and relaxed lifestyle in an better nature environment.
Population growth ratio along the line
Figure 17 illustrates population growth ratios along the TX line before and after the opening of the line (for 2010 and 2000). Almost all residential areas along the line showed an increased growth ratio, especially in the areas around stations, where a land reallocation project was completed. The growth ratio is also high along the lines connected to the TX line. It demonstrates that the improved customer convenience of the TX line has impacted on some areas not subject to the land reallocation project. Figure 18 shows a comparison of growth ratio in land prices between three cities holding the TX line and other three cities without the line, before and after the launch of the express railway service (2009 and 2003). It clearly illustrates that the land prices have risen after opening of the TX service. A virtuous circle along the new railway service (the railway development coordinated with residential development along the line → favorable number of passengers gained → improved railway services → population growth along the line → more increase in passengers) has made the areas more attractive, which has led to the increase in land prices.
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
15 EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru HIRATA; Shojiro KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA
1995 Tsukuba
Miraidaira
TX
Tokyo
2005 Tsukuba
Miraidaira
TX
Tokyo
2009 5 years later after opening Tsukuba
Miraidaira TX
Tokyo
Figure 16 – Around Miraidaira station before and after the land reallocation project
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
16 EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru HIRATA; Shojiro KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA Population growth Three cities along the TX line ratio along TX line (average) Three cities around the area Tsukuba (without the TX line) (average) 120 115 110 105 100 95
Growth ratio (%)
Areas along 90 TX line 85 80 Akihabara 2009/2003
Figure 17 –Population growth ratio along TX line (for 2010 and 2000) (Left), Figure 18 – Land price growth ratio (Right)
Economic indicators
Figure 19 illustrates a comparison between the cities along TX and the areas around the cities in the amounts of local tax income, annual sales of retail shops, and the number of new residential constructions started, before the opening of TX (2002) and after the opening (2007). The 7 cities along the TX line showed a larger growth compared to the areas around the cities, especially in the number of new residential constructions which was almost doubled. It is thought that the population growth led by launch of the new express railway service has encouraged the development of the residential areas along the line.
7 cities along TX line (average) 3 areas around the cities (average) 200
180
160
140
ratio (%) ratio 120
100
Growth 80
60 Annual sales of retail Local tax income Number of new shops residential * The growth ratio was calculated based on 2007 dataconstructions compared to 2002started levels. Figure 19 – Comparison of economic indicators
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
17 EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru HIRATA; Shojiro KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA Number of tourists
Impacts of the launched TX service on sightseeing business include a significant increase of mountain climbers visiting to Mt. Tsukuba, which is one of 100 Famous Japanese Mountains. After the opening of the rapid railway, operation of a new shuttle bus service from Tsukuba station to the mountain started. Another impact is that the number of users of Tsukuba Sightseeing Railway, which operates rail service including a cable car at Mt. Tsukuba, has also grown by a large margin after the TX line was opened (see Figure 20). These facts demonstrate that the new rapid train service has enhanced the tourist businesses in the local community.
500 Opening of
450 the TX line
400 350 300 250 200 150
(thousand people)
100
Transported passengers Transported 50 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Fiscal Year Figure 20 – Passengers transported by Tsukuba Sightseeing Railway
User benefit
Figure 21 shows an illustration of user benefit. The user benefit refers to effectiveness and impact given to railway users, converting beneficial effects from time reduction, cost saving, and less crowded passenger cars into dollar amount. The value was measured by calculating a difference in effectiveness of railway transport for train users between the cases where the TX service had been developed (“with TX” case) and where the service had not been developed (“without TX” case) in dollar amounts and totalling the amounts for all users. The higher user benefit is generated mainly along the express line, but also the areas along the other railway lines connected at some of the TX stations.
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
18 EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru HIRATA; Shojiro KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA
Benefit (dollars/day) Tsukuba 350 1,000 1,000 2,000 2,000 3,000 3,000 4,000 4,000
Akihabara
Figure 21 – User benefit
3) Evaluation by TX users (questionnaire survey)
Recognition for shorter time to travel: “Able to arrive the destination earlier than other ways” (raked the 1st place) accounted for the largest share of 83%, showing that this factor was highly evaluated by most of the train users. Recognition for residential development along the line: “Short distance to the station” (2nd place) accounted for 41%, demonstrating the impact of the coordinated urban development in accordance with the Unification Act. There were some respondents who gave improved services around the station as their reasons, including “Useful and convenient bus access to the station”, “There is a parking space near the station”, and “There is a bicycle parking space near the station”, although each of them represented a small share. These are another indicators of the effective impact of the Unification Act which prevented unorganized development of the area. Recognition for the railway facilities: “Trains come on time, having few delays or out of services” (3rd place) accounted for 35%, “Able to take a seat, or the passenger cars are less crowded” (5th place) accounted for 19%, and “Comfortable ride” (7th place) accounted for 17% indicate that safety, stability, and comfort of the TX railway operations have been highly appreciated. Other reasons: “Able to directly access to Akihabara” (4th place) means that the improved railway access which allows direct travel to downtown Tokyo has been appreciated.
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
19 早く着く 64% 15% 4% 83%
時間通り、遅れや運休が少ない 4% 19% 12% 35%
運賃が安い 1% 早く着く 64% 15% 4% 83% 通勤手当が全額出る 2% 8% 8% 18% 時間通り、遅れや運休が少ない 4% 19% 12% 35% 駅が近い 20% 16% 5% 41% 1% 運賃が安い 1% 駅までバスが便利で行きやすい 3% 通勤手当が全額出る 2% 8% 8% 18% 1% 駅近くに駐車場がある 3% 駅が近い 20% 16% 5% 41% 1% 1% 駅近くに駐輪場がある 2% 4% 駅までバスが便利で行きやすい 3% 1% 1% 駅近くに駐車場がある 3% バスや他線との乗換えが楽 5% 5% 11% 1% 1% 駅近くに駐輪場がある 2% 4% 終電が遅い 2% 3% 1% EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN RAPID TRANSIT COORDINATED WITH 1% バスや他線との乗換えが楽 5% 5% 11% 座ることができる、車内が空いている 2% 8% 9% 19% DEVELOPMENT1% OF RESIDENTIAL AREA Minoru 終電が遅いHIRATA; Shojiro2% 3% KAMITOMO; Yuichiro KIMURA 1% 2% 4% 7% 電車の本数が多い 座ることができる、車内が空いている 2% 8% 9% 19% 1% Able to arrive the destination earlier 64% 15% 4% 乗り心地がよい 6% 10% 17% 電車の本数が多いthan other早く着く ways 2% 4% 7% 83% 1% 1% Trains come時間通り、遅れや運休が少ない on time, having few delays 4% 19% 12% 35% 駅にエレベータなどがあり、移動が楽 3% or乗り心地がよい out of service 6% 10% 17% 2% 1% 駅にエレベータなどがあり、移動が楽運賃が安いLow fare 1%3% 駅係員の対応が良い 1% 2% The travel by TX is fully covered by commuter 2% 8% 8% 18% allowance 駅係員の対応が良い通勤手当が全額出るpaid by the company 1% 駅構内の案内表示がわかりやすい 0% 20% 16% 5% 41% 駅構内の案内表示がわかりやすいShort distance to the駅が近い station 0% 2% 1% 駅近くにお店があり、買い物に便利 Useful駅までバスが便利で行きやすい and convenient bus access 3% 駅近くにお店があり、買い物に便利 to the station 2% 1% The利用理由1位 largest reason 秋葉原に直接行くことができる 3% 7% 13%There is a22% parking space駅近くに駐車場がある near the station 3% 3%7% 13% 22% for using TX line利用理由1位 秋葉原に直接行くことができる 1% 1% The second largest reason There is a bicycle parking space near the 1% 利用理由2位利用理由2位 その他 2% 4% 駅近くに駐輪場がある 2%2% 4%4% for using TX line その他station 1% 2% 2% The third largest利用理由3位 reason Easy to transfer to/from a bus 利用理由3位 バスや他線との乗換えが楽無回答・無効 6%5% 5% 16%11% 22% for using TX line 無回答・無効 6% 16% 22% or other railway line 1%
終電が遅い0% 2% 3% 30% 60% 90% 0%1% 30% 60% 90% 0% 30% 60% (n=8,454)90% Figure座ることができる、車内が空いている 22 – Reasons for taking2% TX8% trains9% (total19% of the first to third largest reasons)(n=8,454)
電車の本数が多い 2% 4% 7% 6. CONCLUSION 1% 乗り心地がよい 6% 10% 17% 1% 駅にエレベータなどがあり、移動が楽 3% Aiming for improvement of transport2% system in the northern part of the Tokyo area and supply of a large volume駅係員の対応が良い of quality housing1% in the area, the TX project was developed and carried out駅構内の案内表示がわかりやすい through a close collaboration0% among parties related to railway operations and urban development. For the purpose of achieving the objective, they worked together toward 駅近くにお店があり、買い物に便利 2% the same goal and in accordance with the established the Unification Act designed for 利用理由1位 construction 秋葉原に直接行くことができるof railways coordinated3% with7% devel13% opment22% of residential area. The development 1% 利用理由2位 based on the law has demonstratedその他 2% its4% effectiveness in smooth acquisition of sites for the planned rail service; improvement of2% areas connected to the new railway line,利用理由3位 such as a 無回答・無効 6% 16% 22% station plaza; and prevention of unorganized land development, resulted in fully planned and coordinated urban development along0% the line. In addition,30% because of 60%the well-planned and90% (n=8,454) well-designed railway structure allowing higher and safer transportation compared to other train lines in the metropolitan area, the number of the TX passengers has been growing steadily. As the positive effect of TX is also seen in population increase in the areas along the line, land price and the questionnaire result, the project is considered successful. From the above findings, in a project where the residential areas are developed along with the railway construction, it is thought to be very effective to establish a system to form an agreement between railway operators and developers of residential areas to make a coordinated approach in accordance with a specific law, such as The Unification Act in this case.
12th WCTR, July 11-15, 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal
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