[Asahi Shimbun] Will Maglev sacrifice speed for station stops?

[Sir Pompously]

Will maglev sacrifice speed for station stops?

BY JUN NAKAMURA

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

2009/8/11

Even though commercial operation of a super high-speed magnetically levitated train is still years away, local communities are desperately jockeying to land a station in their areas.

Dubbed linear motor cars, the maglev trains, which are capable of speeds in excess of 500 kph, will link Tokyo and Nagoya in just 40 minutes, according to officials of Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai).

They are scheduled to go into service in 2025.

In June, JR Tokai officials said they were considering having only one station along the maglev Chuo Shinkansen Line for each prefecture the line passes through.

Sagamihara in Kanagawa Prefecture is one city that wants to land the station.

During a June 24 study session on what maglev train operations might herald, a 52-year-old woman from Sagamihara who operates a lighting equipment sales company in Tokyo, said, "I will move my company from Ginza to the Hashimoto district (of Sagamihara), if the maglev train passes through here."

She set up her company in central Tokyo because of the ease of making business trips to the Kansai region using Shinkansen train services.

"If a station is constructed in my hometown, there will be no need for me to remain in Tokyo," she said.

The study session was organized by those who want the linear motor car station to be built at Hashimoto Station. Currently, the JR Sagami and Yokohama lines as well as the Keio Line all pass through Hashimoto Station.

Local business leaders established an organization in April to lobby for a station on the maglev train line because of estimates the line would generate about 10 trillion yen in domestic demand.

The organization, which sponsored the study session, is led by Tsutomu Sanada, who operates a petroleum sales firm.

"Hashimoto is most suited for the linear motor car line because three lines already run through it," Sanada said.

However, in February, residents who live near the JR Sagamihara Station submitted a request to city officials seeking to have their station serve as the stop for the maglev train line.

Outside the north exit of Sagamihara Station lies a 17-hectare site that once served as a supply depot for the U.S. military. Under the terms of a 2006 agreement, part of the land will be returned to Japan.

Odakyu Electric Railway Co. has plans to extend its Tama Line to Sagamihara Station. Local residents feel a maglev train line station would add momentum to the move to extend the Odakyu line.

Akio Sato, who heads a local neighborhood association, said, "Because the site here has been cleared away, it will be easier to build a station than at Hashimoto, where many buildings already stand."

Sagamihara is seeking to gain status as a major city with jurisdiction similar to a prefecture in April.

Mayor Toshio Kayama said the maglev train line station would be an indispensable catalyst for urban development.

At the same time, city officials are puzzled by the two separate moves to bring a station to the city.

To avoid aggravating confrontation between residents, city officials are careful about selecting one candidate station site.

There are also some who question even placing a station in Sagamihara, basically because it is only 40 kilometers from Shinagawa Station where JR Tokai is planning to start its maglev train line.

"If no decision can be made for Sagamihara, the Shin-Yokohama Station could become a candidate," said Ryozo Kawashima, a railway journalist. "Because the station for the Tokaido bullet train could be used, having the maglev train stop at Shin-Yokohama would lead to cost reductions and maximum passenger demand."

Some are pushing for Shin-Yurigaoka Station of the Odakyu Line. That station is located in Kawasaki. There are plans for a Kawasaki subway line connecting Shin-Yurigaoka with Musashi-Kosugi Station.

Although no progress has been made on the plan since it was first thought up in the 1960s, Naofumi Yamazaki, a Kawasaki city assembly member, said, "If the maglev line comes, the subway project may finally begin moving."

A major selling point of the maglev line is speed.

While JR Tokai says the maglev line would link Tokyo and Nagoya in just 40 minutes, every station that is situated along the line will only slow down the train.

JR Tokai officials said that an additional six minutes will have to be added for every stop made along the way.

The current planned route would travel through the four prefectures of Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Nagano and Gifu. If a station was built in each of those prefectures and stops made at the stations, the total travel time would increase by 24 minutes.

Even if a station was built, there is the possibility some runs would not stop there due to train schedules.

One reason is that JR Tokai will likely increase the number of direct runs between Tokyo and Nagoya because that would be a more profitable strategy.

That has been the case with past train lines.

For example, only the slower Kodama trains of the Tokaido Shinkansen initially stopped at Shin-Yokohama Station. It took 12 years before the faster Hikari trains began stopping at Shin-Yokohama.

Local municipalities will also have to bear a heavy economic burden if stations are constructed.

The main reason is that JR Tokai has said the total cost of constructing the stations--estimated to be at least 20 billion yen--will be borne by the local government.

Sagamihara's outstanding balance of city bonds was about 180 billion yen in fiscal 2008. That works out to 250,000 yen for each resident.

If it does become a major city, Sagamihara would have to bear an additional 40 billion yen over three years to construct national and prefectural roads.

The nonprofit organization Kanagawa Soken serves as a watchdog over the Sagamihara city government.

Hajime Obata, a director of that organization, said, "Any decision on bringing a station here should be made after a proper examination of the cost and benefits. We should not leave behind a debt for our grandchildren just to realize a dream."(IHT/Asahi: August 11,2009)

Source: http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200908110076.html

[Irisbus Rider]

JR Tokai

NOOOOO! This begs the question, do I have japanese heritage?

Yeah, this is always going to be a difficult issue, do you slow the train down to gain patrons, which in turn, slowing it will reduce patrons?

Even with a Canberra to Sydney VFT, would it stop at Bungendore? What about Moss Vale? Or Campbelltown?

Not Easy to make that decision.

[smitho]

You are best to run two types of service - 'Express' meaning non-stop, and 'Limited' meaning a stopping service with limited stops.

If the current proposal to add stops to the intertown route between Woden and Civic ever gets acted on, that would be the sensible solution...a combination of limited stop services and expresses so that the overall intertown corridor does not get downgraded in terms of running time.