Haga Utsunomiya LRT: Shaping Communities - Japan Railway Journal

in August 20123 a new street car system opened in tochigi [Applause] [Music] prefecture this LRT runs between UIA City and the neighboring town of Hugga LRT stands for light rail trans it's the first time a new street car system has opened in Japan in 75 years these next Generation street cars have lower floors than regular street cars as well as reduced vibration and noise and improved [Music] comfort in today's program we take a look at the hagga utom LRT which was introduced as a possible solution to some of the problems faced by the region [Music] cities UTSA City and hagga town home to the new LRT system are located in tochigi prefecture approximately 100 kilm North of Tokyo the LRT runs between UT noia City and hagga town covering a distance of 14.6 KM linking the two cities in approximately 48 [Music] minutes the haga UTSA LRT is operated by utom Mia Light Rail company [Music] the third sector company is funded by UT nomia City and haa town as well as seven companies and [Music] organizations under vertical separation the facilities and vehicles are owned and maintained by UT nomia City and hagga town while the company is responsible for the operation the operation's newly designed streamlined vehicle is a vibrant yellow and dark gray the low floor LRT is 29.5 M long and consists of three cars there are four doors on either side eight in total with IC card readers installed by each passengers without an IC card can also pay by cash the interior is flat and barrier free with 50 seats each street car can carry up to 160 passengers there are also three spaces for Wheelchairs and strollers this is the driver's seat designed with easy handling in mind acceleration deceleration and braking are all controlled by a single lover around the speedometer is an array of monitors they show realtime video captured by cameras installed around the car body because it's a one-man operation these monitors are used to check the safety in and around the car the LRT uses 100% renewable energy the electricity comes from biomass produced by UT nomia City's waste treatment facility and solar cells the service runs every 5 to 6 minutes during morning and evening peak hours and approximately every 12 minutes during off peak [Music] hours 51 drivers are responsible for the operation of the 17 Vehicles among them are former drivers and station staff from other railway compan companies as well as people from different Industries Mr sueki worked at a station and was engaged in planning at a railway company in Tokyo however his desire to become a driver led him to change his job in 2020 [Music] a license is required to become a driver but because haga utom LRT is a newly established company it's not able to train its own drivers so prospective drivers train at other street car companies to obtain their licenses Mr suiki trained for a year and a half at a street car company in oklahama prefecture today Mr sui's shift starts at 7 a.m. on arriving at work he under goes an alcohol check then he goes over his duties for the day the vehicle is then inspected before departing for the day the hka utun namia LRT runs on both dedicated sections and the road when starting a street car Operation Safe is Paramount especially on the road where Street Cars and Cars run side by side in just over 2 months of operation hagga utn namia LRT has had four accidents involving Motor Vehicles there were three contact accidents and one Collision fortunately no one was injured all the accidents occurred near intersections it seems the motorists involved were unaware of the newly added LRT only signals at the traffic lights and the new stop lines in front of the tracks utun namia City and hagga town have been promoting traffic safety since before the opening of the new line following the accidents they have been working even harder to make sure people observe the updated traffic roles [Music] yes street car similar to the Hagia LRT run in Germany as well and in my hometown of Munich I use them to commute to school so they're a familiar site for me oh I see what is called an LRT here in Japan is the street car system using this kind of lowf floor modern vehicles since there have never been street cars in hagga oromia before do you think it will be difficult for the street car operators but also for the car drivers to get used to that new traffic situation I do think that that is the case and that is connected to one important issue for the Hagi LRT which is their maximum speed under the current uh Japanese street car regulation the maximum speed is limited to 40 kilm per hour but uh that is the very old regulation and some even say uh that that's 100 years old if it's a 100 years old do you think it still fits the current situation Frankly Speaking no especially considering the modern vehicle performance but we should also consider the current situation at hagga anomia LRT where people have not got used to the situation uh quite well so I think it will take some time before we can actually raise the speed I see next up why did a local city decide to build a street car system for the first time in 75 years let's have a look the LRT plan was originally conceived by utun namia city in 1992 UTSA city which has a population of approximately 500,000 is home to both Commerce and Industry the LRT project came about in reaction to the hollowing out of urban areas as driving became more common and urban areas began spreading to the suburbs in addition there were concerns about the declining birth rate and aging [Music] population to combat this situation utom Mia aimed to develop the city around a new public transportation system comp the compact City envisioned by utun namia city which makes the most of its Transportation network is one in which distinctive Urban functions are concentrated in various locations all connected by LRT the LRT was introduced to alleviate the city's chronic traffic congestion and to provide an easy way for non-motorists to get around the city originally the LRT was only going to run in ut noia city until the neighboring town of hagga to the east entered the project in 2013 hagga Town has a large industrial park with over 20,000 employees many of whom commute to work from UT numia [Music] City with so many commuters traveling to work by car the roads leading to the industrial park were always [Music] congested [Music] with hagat Town joining the project the LRT route was finalized starting from Jr UTA station the line would run to the industrial park in hagat town the completed route has an operating distance of 14.6 KM and 19 stops at five of these stops Transit centers were developed making access to other modes of transportation easier let's take a look along the line depart from UT nomia Station East the LRT runs along the city's main arterial Road when the LRT development plan was announced land prices in the area increased and multistory apartment buildings started going up along the [Music] line this stop is utom University Yoto campus the large commercial facility in front of the Stop Plus the nearby University campus see many people get on and off here as it passes through the city center the LRT crosses a large river on a bridge built specifically for [Music] it in this area there are no arterial roads so dedicated LRT tracks were constructed this is the sadio high school stop in addition to the high school from which the stop gets its name there is a junior high school and a college nearby so the stop season many students in the morning and [Music] evening next is the Kara District Civic Center stop and the largest Transit Center along the line [Music] here LRT passengers can transfer to local buses or taxis there is also a large free park and ride parking lot the LRT continues on to the outskirts of the city this is the green Stadium Stop nearby is a 15,000 seat soccer station ium the lt's transportation capabilities are especially useful on game days the LRT enters a new residential district this area was developed along with the [Music] LRT houses were built and the number of residents increased as did the number of restaurants drug stores gas stations Etc along the [Music] line the LRT enters hagga Town's vast industrial park around 100 factories and research facilities mainly automobile manufacturers and related companies are located here the LRT arrives at haa Taka anawa Industrial Park the last [Music] D it's almost 3 months since the LRT opened and it's already being used by more than 13,000 people daily UTSA City believes maintaining this number is the key to ensuring a stable operation for for in the future there are plans to extend the LRT in the direction of the tochigi government office and utun namia City Hall so UIA and hagga have been developing their cities around street cars yes yes and in the 1960s there were more than 60 street car systems across Japan but since then most of them has been closed because of the rising private car traffic on the road causing traffic jumps but recently more and more people are looking at lrts as the solution to various problems caused by too much dependency on the private car traffic and there's so many benefits to the LRT the stops are usually quite short it's easy to hop on and off and then makes it great for students to commute or for the elderly indeed and I've heard that there are more and more people are coming to the city of zomia to learn from their experience so I do hope that uh their experience will become the model case for uh various cities across Japan I would love to see more street cars all around Japan indeed next up is tourist trains in style where we introduce amazing tourist trains from all across [Music] Japan highrail iisan Nago is a tourist train operated by Jr [Music] East this tourist train runs on the Kumi line that connects KOMO station in Nagano prefecture to kabuchi zawa station in yamanashi prefecture ichan Nago means 1375 which is the line highest point of elevation 1,375 M the highest of all Jr lines the two-car train can carry up to 50 passengers today we are taking a round trip on the Ki line departing from KOMO station car 1 has pair seats and single seats each facing a window Car 2 has reclining [Music] seats leaving the plane the train heads toward the [Music] mountains at the onboard concession St stand attendant sell original goods and other [Music] items in addition attendants move around the seats taking pictures to commemorate the ride up ahead the yatsugatake mountain range an important l Landmark along the line comes into view the train approaches the highest point of elevation on the Jr [Music] line as the train passes the highest point it slows down making the signs marking the point easy to see at 4:57 p.m. the train TR arrives at the last stop kabuchi zawa station the return train departs at 6:17 p.m. the evening train from kabuchi zawa makes the most of the Starry Sky from the high elevation of the [Music] line This Gallery displaying books on astronomy is located in car to in the evening constellations are projected onto a dome in the [Music] ceiling on board the Starry Sky Guide who works as a guide at an observatory explains the stars and constellations to the passengers [Applause] the train arrives at noyama station closest to the line's highest point it stops here for about 50 [Music] minutes getting off the train the passengers gather at a nearby park because of the high altitude and the lack of street lights in noyama it's often possible to see the beautiful Starry [Music] Sky [Music] [Music] Jr East tourist train High rail ichan Nago runs mainly on weekends and [Music] holidays [Applause] [Music] all

Channel: NHK WORLD-JAPAN

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Id: KFQlDG9SFqE

Length: 28min 6sec (1686 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 29 2023