Symposium “Attractiveness of Railroads and Railroad Routes in Tokyo Area – Challenges and Future Prospects”
[2018/07/20]
We participated in the symposium, “Attractiveness of Railroads and Railroad Routes in the Tokyo Area – Challenges and Future Prospects”, held by the Transportation Research Institute (TRI).
The symposium included a lecture on the issue of declined population in the Tokyo area, introductions of initiatives by six railroad companies in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and a panel discussion with experts on these initiatives. The population of the Tokyo metropolitan area is expected to continue to increase at least until 2045, and the forecast has been updated to show that the problem of population decline is not expected to arrive anytime soon. I felt that the railroad companies should focus on something else (strengthening connections with other mobility?) rather than developing new businesses to prepare for the decline in population. A rescue center in the city in the event of a disaster, etc.).
I also thought it would be interesting to see what Mr. Hiroshi Naito (architect and professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo) would like to do with the “What do railroad operators want to do? I was impressed by Mr. Shuyo Ishikawa’s comment, “Stations are places that convey core contents, so I would like them to think more about how to build stations, without taking advantage of their potential. (Hirabayashi)
