A Comparison of Britishand Japanese Railways

L130943Takahiro Yamada

Thesis Chapters List

❖ Introduction - the birth of the railways❖ Early British railways and the Industrial

Revolution❖ Early Japanese Railways and the Meiji era❖ Future Railways❖ Conclusion - the railways for the future

Presentation Topics

❖ Thesis Purpose & Introduction

❖ Situation of the railways in Hokkaido

❖ Are new Shinkansen needed TRULY?

❖ Conclusion

Thesis Purpose & Introduction

❖ Today, railways are essential for our daily lives.

→ ex. Transporting individuals or materials.

❖ There are two countries whose railways are so much developed.

→Britain and Japan

• The FIRST railway in the world was built in Britain.

→Then, railways played an important role to develop

the British economy, especially in Industrial Revolution.

• Japan has an high technology of building or maintaining railways.

→For example, Shinkansen.

Two important points of my thesis are……

① Showing how railways made two countries (Britain and Japan) as a strong country in the world.

② Considering about what can railways do for the society of this 21st century.

❖ For Today’s Presentation….• I will speak about the third topic of the thesis

→ “Future Railways”• With showing the situation which the railways in

Hokkaido face to and building new Shinkansen.

Let’s Begin!

Situation of the railways in Hokkaido

Introduction❖ Japan is now becoming as a society of

decreasing birth rate and aging population.

❖ And also, underpopulation is advancing…• This situation is particularly seen in rural areas

such as in Kyushu, Shikoku, Tohoku, and Hokkaido.

Think about…

① Railways company get the profits from the train fee which passengers paid

② If the number of the people who live near the stations decreases….

③ The passengers who use train lines will decrease!

④ The profit of the railways company decreases.

❖ This problem becomes so serious in Hokkaido!

The percentage change of populationin Hokkaido

❖ This Photo shows the percentage change of population in Hokkaido from 2005 to 2010.

❖ Based on the statistics which the Ministry of Public Management did.

The percentage change of populationin Hokkaido

❖ Red shows that the population increased.

❖ Blue shows that the population decreased.

Railways lines in Hokkaidoand how many people used them

❖ This Photo shows the all lines of railways in Hokkaido.

Railways lines in Hokkaidoand how many people used them

❖ The color of the line shows that how many people were used the railway lines each day.

① Black: more than 8,000.② Blue: from 4,000 to 8,000.③ Yellow: from 500 to 4,000.④ Red: less than 500.

❖ The lines which go through the areas where so many people lives transport more than 8,000 people.

❖ But the lines which do the areas where the population decreases transport less than 500 people.

❖ JR Hokkaido said that there is the difficulty to maintain the lines which transport less than 500 people each day by its own power.

❖ So, now JR Hokkaido thinking about these lines that whether it will be abolished or changed to the bus line or not.

❖ But, why JR Hokkaido in such a serious situation?

→ There are two big reasons…

First reason : StreamliningThe number of

passengers decreases

The number oftrains reduced

The people who live nearto the station feel inconvenient.

People startsusing their own cars or buses.Minus Spiral

Second reason : Climate❖ In winter, so many snow falls in

Hokkaido.• It approaches -20 degrees and 2

meters depth of the snow.❖ JR Hokkaido have to get rid of the

snow on the railroad. Photo by Naoki Harukaze

❖ JR Hokkaido has 3176km long railroad lines in total.• Most of them are located in the area where the so many snow falls.• JR Hokkaido have to do the maintenance in all the distance.

It costs tremendous money!!!

❖ The fight against the snow particularly occurs in Hokkaido.

• JR Kyushu, Shikoku, West (except Sanin and Hokuriku region) and Tokai has no fight against to snow.

• JR East has Tohoku region but it is not so hard compared to Hokkaido.

Hokkaido has a handicap of the climate…

Seeing these facts…

❖ Is there anyway of that railways in Hokkaido can survive?

① Transporting materials

② Winter

Transporting materials❖ There are so many roads with so many curves and go over

mountains.• But, railways go through mountains by tunnel.• Cargo train is so much faster than trucks!❖ What is more, Cargo train can transport tremendous

amount of materials in one time!❖ Also, Hokkaido railways is connected to Honshu with

Seikan Tunnel.❖ Cargo train may becomes as “the ship on the ground” for

Hokkaido.

Cargo train may be the savior for the railways in Hokkaido.

Winter❖ Winter and the heavy snow is the strong enemy

for railways in Hokkaido.• But it is the same thing for the road, too!• If heavy snow falls, so many roads are closed, or

if it can be go through, the risk of the traffic accident increases.

❖ Although, the railroads are maintained correctly, trains can go through on them!

The railways can be relied on when winter comes.

Are new Shinkansen needed truly?

❖ There is a fresh memory that the Hokkaido Shinkansen (from Shin-Aomori to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto) started service on March 26th this year.

❖ Also, Hokuriku Shinkansen (from Nagano to Kanazawa) started service on March 14th last year.

❖ The law of National Shinkansen Railways Preparation

• Established in 1975.• As the name shows, it decides to make Shinkansen

railways to boost the movement of individuals.

① Tohoku Shinkansen (from Morioka to Aomori)

② Hokkaido Shinkansen (from Aomori to Sapporo)

③ Hokuriku Shinkansen (from Tokyo to Osaka via Kanazawa)

④ Kyushu Shinkansen (from Hakata to Kagoshima)

⑤ Kyushu Shinkansen (from Hakata to Nagasaki)

The Comparison…

1975 2016

High Economic growthEconomic Crisis since Bankruptcy of Lehman

brothers

Tremendous Money! Not so much money…

Future is bright! Future is dark…

Everything goes great! Everything gonna be bad…

Situation is completely different!But New Shinkansen lines are building!

First Fear : Political Strategy

Politician : I will attract the new Shinkansen line here!

Local People : Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Politician : Please vote for me in next election!!!

Local people : Yes! Of course!!

After the election……

Politician : I won the election! So much money comes in! And the new Shinkansen will be built!

Is it Okay that the Shinkansen is used as the political strategy?

Second Fear : Change of the Region

❖ The local line which goes side by side of the new Shinkansen line will be relegated to the Third Sector.

• The service it used to be is completely changed and the new one becomes inconvenient.

• ex. Hokuriku Shinkansen and Third Sector.

❖ Straw Phenomenon may happens…• New Shinkansen is connected to Tokyo or

Osaka.• The people who live in rural area left their

hometown and go to urban cities!❖ The fear that many people go to the urban cities

and only a few people left in the rural area is said for a long time .

❖ If new Shinkansen is built and start servicing, does it boost the Straw phenomenon rapidly?

❖ Politicians decides to build a new Shinkansen line with thinking this fear?

About building new Shinkansen

❖ Building the new Shinkansen costs a lot of money.

• Is it cheaper to renewal or upgrade the current infrastructure than building new Shinkansen?

❖ Does the new Shinkansen line needed from the society truly?

Politicians should think again what the society demands for the railways, especially Shinkansen!

Conclusion❖ Railways permute movement of individuals and

materials.• Thanks to that, the society improved rapidly.❖ But, society always change is the truth.• There is a historical fact that the thing which

adapts to the change of the times can survive, but the thing which can’t do will disappear.

❖ So, if the railways can’t change with adapting the change of the society, the railways will disappear!

Conclusion❖ The abolition of the railway line is a demerit for

region, and also for the nation!

❖ I hope the all railway companies to think again about the railway lines which they have and whether their service is TRULY needed from region and the time.

This is the true role of railways in society

and in this 21st century!

Thank you for Listening!!!