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People's needs have become sophisticated and diversified as a result of the improvement of the nation's standard of livdng, while population and functions are becoming concentrated in major urban areas. In such circumstances, the environment surrounding passenger transport has undergone vast changes, with the result that transportation facilities must grow more speed-and comfort-oriented. In major urban areas in particular, people are becoming increasingly concerned with how to ease congestion during commuting hours, and the housing situation. In addition, there are signs that the way time is being used in everyday life is changing, and there is a trend for people to want to improve the quality of their lives and enjoy more spare time. This has forced transportation facilities to offer new services based on new ideas, and to take elaborate steps to meet the new needs of passengers. In this way, transportation facilities are facing a mountain of problems.
Today, there is a pressing need to multipolarize nationalland, to build the foundations for a well-balanced development of regional economic society, and to build a high-speed, key traffic network which sustains a broad range of exchange activities among people. To this end, the construction of additional Shinkansen lines, expressways, airports and other high-speed traffic facilities is under way (Table 1). Moreover, much is expected from the linear motor system, which is capable of running faster than the Shinkansen train and almost as fast as aircraft, will help satisfy the growing demands for a new high-speed transport system. Because of this, there is a need to forge ahead with developmental research toward its realization on a commercial basis. Basic R&D (Research & Development) efforts will be continued, using the experimental track in Miyazaki Prefecture, while in 1990 in Yamanashi Prefecture, construction work is to begin on a new experimental 43-km track for durability tests. Furthermore, R&D has started on a new high-speed ship capable of speed of 50 knots an hour with a cargo capacity of 1,000 tons and more vessel that shatters the conventional concept of shipping. In this way, efforts to develop and improve technologies for increasing the speed of transport systems have been continuing in the various circles concerned (Fig. 1).
Easing traffic congestion during commuting hours is a problem requiring
a prompt solution. In view of this, there is a need to promote the improvement
of urban railways in a bid to step up transportation capacity overall by, for
example, constructing new lines and double-tracking existing single-track lines.
At the same time, it is necessary to make comprehensive studies of countemeasures
and push forward with them on the basis of the technological progress made in
recent years, by operating extra trains, running trains with more passenger
cars, and speeding up train services, and by also making maxium use of existing
railway facilities (Fig. 2,
Fig. 3).
Furthermore, in june 1989, "Special Legislative Measures Conceming Integrated
Promotion of Housing Development in Major Urban Areas and Improvement of Railway
Systems" were promulgated. These measures aim to secure a smooth supply of housing
'lots and the construction of new railway lines in major urban areas by implementing
soecial steps to systematically push ahead with the development of housing lots
and the construction of new railway lines in a harmonious way. At pre-sent,
the realization of the projected joban New Line, which will link central Tokyo
with Tsukuba Academic New Town, is being studied.
Against a backdrop of changes in the awareness of Living standards and the
diversification of values, the ways people utilize their time in everyday life
have changed dramatically, making it imperative to step up night-time and midnight
transportation capacities. At present, it is difficult to move back schedules
for last trains because they are closely linked with track maintenance hours,
so, with regard to providing a means of transport that is available after last
trains, the utilization of midnight bus services instead of railway services
is considered to be an effectivd alternative. In fact, in the Tokyo region,
midnight express buses have been introduced recently between central Tokyo and
suburban areas. Again, there has developed a tendency for people to demand greater
comfort and ease of travel, hence transport services have responded by air-conditioning
passenger cars, introducing trains in which all passengers can be seated, improving
buses which are comfortable to get on, and improving station feacilities.
In order to enable people to feel truly affluent in their daily lives and
to realize diversified and creative lives, it is urged that people should have
more spare time to enjoy. To meet such needs, the Ministry of Transport is currently
pushing ahead with overall measures systematically in both hard and soft aspects
to promote tourism and recreational activities by introducing the "Tourism Action
Program in the Nineties" (TAP 90's), the "Ten Million Program" to double the
number of Japanese traveling overseas, and the "Marine '99 Program."
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