The Development of Tokyo's Rail Network
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Feature Evolution of Urban Railways The Development of Tokyo’s Rail Network Haruya Hirooka Academics do not always agree about region at this time. Actually, until 1965, Tokyo as Megalopolis how the area encompassing a large city greater New York’s population was higher should be classified. In Japan, a ‘greater than that of the TMA. However, their As an introduction to Tokyo’s complex city’ is considered to extend to include the relative positions reversed over the next 30 railway system, let’s look first at how Tokyo daily commuting distance. In 1995, the years as New York’s population remained developed into today’s megalopolis. population within this Greater Tokyo relatively stable while Tokyo’s was In 1995, the population of Tokyo-to (an Commuting Zone totalled 31,987,117 or increasing dramatically. administrative area of 23 wards (or 2.7 times more than the population of Figure 1 shows the extent of the TMA boroughs) plus some 27 neighbouring Tokyo-to. transport network. The city centre exerts cities) was 11,773,605, making it one of This zone is almost circular with a radius a gravitational pull. Adjacent to the centre the world’s biggest cities at the time. But of 50 km centred on JR East’s Tokyo Station, are sub-centres, sub-sub-centres, and Tokyo is actually much bigger if we define which is located in the city centre. If we other commercial urban cores. A it not as an administrative area but as the exclude regions where the public transport predominant feature of this megalopolis Tokyo Metropolitan Area (TMA) extending system does not permit easy daily is its extensive network of railways and to cities such as Yokohama and Kawasaki commuting, the area within this rough expressways serving the huge population. in neighbouring prefectures. Metropolitan circle is 10,117 km2. This is less than one As John Michael Thomson pointed out in centres in other parts of the world, too, third the area of greater New York, which Great Cities and Their Traffic, if a include surrounding areas that are under covers 33,020 km2. However, Tokyo’s metropolis is to have a dominant city the administration of other local population is about 1.5 times larger than centre, it must have a well-developed government entities. Tokyo is no exception New York’s, meaning that its population railway network that creates transit but the area it draws toward its centre is density is 4.5 times higher. London and corridors within the city proper. London, far larger than that of other world Paris are smaller than New York, making Paris, New York and Tokyo all meet this metropolises. Tokyo the world’s largest metropolitan requirement. When we examine Tokyo’s railway network against this backdrop, it is true that Tokyo’s Table 1 Subways in World’s Four Major Cities subways do not extend as far as subways in New York, London and Paris. But Tokyo’s Number Number Rolling stock Annual number Route-km of lines of stations (number of cars) of passengers subways carry far more passengers. In addition, suburban lines operated by JR East New York (1996) 393.2 29 481 6,141 1,170 (million) and the private railways have developed London (1995) 392.0 12 261 3,922 784 very extensive links to Tokyo’s centre— Paris (1995) 316.5 17 359 4,342 1,380 suburban residents in New York, London Tokyo (1997) 248.7 12 235 3,155 2,640 and Paris do not have such substantial links; Source: 1998 Annual Report on Urban Transportation published by the lines from Tokyo’s suburbs carry a Institute for Transport Policy Studies considerable proportion of all railway passengers in the metropolis (Tables 1 and 2). Table 2 Shares of Various Transportation Modes Fiscal 1996 Railways—The Backbone JR Private Subways Rail totalTrams Buses Automobiles of Tokyo railways As I mentioned, the population of the TMA Distance (route-km) 876.4 996.2 270.4 2,143.0 17.2 10,996.7 Passengers in surpassed that of greater New York after Tokyo's central 3,520 2,852 2,541 8,913 40 633 2,078 1965, but the distribution changed 23 wards (million) dramatically too. From 1970 to 1995, there Passengers in 5,452 4,974 2,671 13,098 40 1,972 8,354 TMA (million) was a considerable population decline in Tokyo’s 23 wards; a 40% drop in the three Source: 1998 Annual Report on Urban Transportation published by Institute for Transport Policy Studies central wards, a 33% in another eight, and a 10% drop in a further eight. On the other 22 Japan Railway & Transport Review 23 • March 2000 Copyright © 2000 EJRCF. All rights reserved. Figure 1 Tokyo Metropolitan Area Transport Network Tsukuba Musashi Kyuryo Koen Tsuchiura Kasumigaura Mitsukaido Tobu Dobutsu Koen Ibaraki Prefecture Saitama Prefecture Noda Kawagoe Omiya Tor ide Urawa Kashiwa Shinmatsudo Tokorozawa Chiba New Town KaKawaguchiwaguchi Ome Narita New Town NishiarNishiaraiai Matsudo Chiba New Town Narita Akabane Narita Airport Hibarigaoka Hikarigaoka Aoto Nerima IkIkebukuroebukuro Ueno Funabashi Yukarigaoka Tachikawa Tokyo Sakura Nakano Shinjuku Mitaka TTokyookyo MakuharMakuharii Hachioji ShibShibuyauya Urayasu Seiseki Chofu Sakuragaoka NoboritoNoborito ShinagaShinagawawa Jiyugaoka Chiba Tama New Town Shin YYurigaokaurigaoka Musashi Hashimoto Tama Plaza kkosugiosugi Soga Haneda Airport Kamata Kohoku New Town Haneda Togane Machida Chiba-Ichihara KaKawasakiwasaki Tokyo Bay New Town Kanagawa Prefecture YYokohamaokohama Atsugi Mobara Totsuka Kisarazu Chiba Prefecture Hiratsuka Fujisawa KamakurKamakuraa Yokosuka OdaOdawarawara Sagami Bay 1630s 1850~68 Railway Expressway 1910 Planned expressway 1945 Prefecture boundary 1993 hand, the population in three adjacent the same time period. This indicates a curves and changes in distribution over the prefectures of Saitama, Kanagawa and population shift—at least at night—to the last four decades or so. Chiba jumped from 6.97 million in 1955 suburbs. However, the daytime working One result of this move to the suburbs is to 20.80 million in 1995. Likewise, the population continued to increase until tremendous tidal flows of commuters Tama district which is within Tokyo-to but 1990, so Tokyo has not experienced the travelling between home and work or outside the 23 wards, saw its population so-called inner-city crisis of some European school from the three neighbouring rise from 1.07 million to 3.81 million during cities. Figures 2 and 3 show population prefectures and from the Tama district to Copyright © 2000 EJRCF. All rights reserved. Japan Railway & Transport Review 23 • March 2000 23 Evolution of Urban Railways Figure 2 Population Increase in TMA (million) 25 Tokyo’s 23 wards, especially to the city centre. The daily figures are enormous; in 20 20.80 1995, the commuting population was 650,000 from the Tama district, 970,000 Adjacent Saitama, 15 15.37 Kanagawa & Chiba from Kanagawa Prefecture, 1,050,000 from prefectures Saitama Prefecture, 870,000 from Chiba Prefecture, 80,000 from Ibaraki Prefecture, 10 8.65 Tokyo's 23 wards and 70,000 from other prefectures. This 7.39 7.97 6.97 makes a total of 3,690,000 commuters 5 every working day! 3.81 Commuters travel up to 65 km to the three 3.03 Tama district 1.07 central wards (Fig. 4). Indeed, more than 0 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 another 31,000 commute from even Source: National Land Agency further away by shinkansen. Because of these great distances, commuting time for one quarter of workers and students Figure 3 Office, Day and Night Populations of Tokyo’s Wards travelling to the central three wards is at (1970 Population index: 100) least 90 minutes one way, or more than 3 hours each day. 150 150 The vast numbers of commuters use the 146 public transportation system at the same 140 137 time each morning and evening, so railways must provide tremendous 129 130 capacity to satisfy the demand. As I will explain later, postwar improvements in 120 125 121 120 Tokyo’s railway network have involved 110 108 continued effort and huge investments, 107 creating a transit system with immense 100 capacity (Table 3). Although the system 92 can handle the demand, there is 90 90 congestion at times but studies show that there is a limit to what can be done to 80 alleviate this congestion. 71 70 Table 3 lists the major lines forming the 65 67 extensive railway network that serves the 60 60 TMA. However, the only lines carrying 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 passengers to the city’s centre are JR East’s Office workers Day population Night population Yokosuka, Tokaido, Keihin Tokohu, Chuo, in 3 central wards in 3 central wards in 3 central wards Office workers Day population Night population Keiyo, and Yamanote lines. All the other in 8 central wards in 8 central wards in 8 central wards lines terminate at massive stations such as Office workers Day population Night population in 23 wards in 23 wards in 23 wards Shinagawa, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro and Ueno on the circular Yamanote Line. Notes: (1) 3 central wards: Chiyoda, Minato and Chuo (2) 8 central wards: Above 3 wards and Shinjuku, Shibuya, Bunkyo, If all passengers disembarking at these Taito and Toshima stations were to transfer to JR trains entering (3) Office workers = Total of workers in specialized and technical fields, the city’s centre, the congestion would be managerial staff, and office workers as classified by national census (4) 1995 figures include passengers of unknown ages unimaginable and the transfer stations would not be able to handle the extra load. Source: Compiled by Metropolitan Areas Development Bureau of the National Land Agency using National Census data of Management and Coordination Agency This problem has been avoided to some extent by through operations of suburban 24 Japan Railway & Transport Review 23 • March 2000 Copyright © 2000 EJRCF.