Japan - Subway to shorten Narita, Haneda trips

From the Japan Times (http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120217a2.html)...

The transport ministry has drawn up plans to build a new subway bypass line and station that would directly connect central Tokyo with Narita and Haneda airports and slash travel times.

The new 11-km section would reduce the current traveling time to Narita by 13 minutes and shave three minutes off the trip to Haneda. The ministry projects that traveling via limited express from an envisioned terminal to be built next to Tokyo Station to Narita International Airport would take just 37 minutes, while trips to Haneda airport would be trimmed to 22 minutes.

The new ¥400 billion subway project is seen boosting Japan's tourism industry, as it would make it easier for overseas visitors to travel between the airports and central Tokyo and facilitate travel to other parts of the country via shinkansen from Tokyo Station.

The ministry projects that around 10 million passengers would use the new line each year, which would be constructed as a bypass on the existing Toei Asakusa line, the officials said.

The central government, railway and subway operators, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government would each cover one-third of the costs under the plan.

For me the Keisei Skyliner is already fast enough, but hopefully this would drive down the ticket price through competition...

but hopefully this would drive down the ticket price through competition... In Japan.......???? Price competition? They will probably charge more for the special service :D!

This is confusing me. Are they referring to a subway line or just something underground that the N'Ex will use? If it is for the subway, will the N'Ex stop running?

This is confusing me. Are they referring to a subway line or just something underground that the N'Ex will use? If it is for the subway, will the N'Ex stop running?

I'm confused, too. At first I thought it was just a new tunnel for N'Ex. But the reference to bypassing the Asakusa line sure makes it sound like a new "chikatetsu" line.

My reading of it is that the proposed route would be run by Toei which is not the same as JR which operates the N'Ex. Effectively this would see to be considering a southerly option to the recently opened Skyliner northerly route. It also makes Toei's access direct rather than contingent upon a feed from Keisei at Takasago/ Aoto as it is now.

Or am I reading it incorrectly? :-)

Here's the official scoop:
http://www.mlit.go.jp/tetudo/tetudo_tk4_000006.html
http://www.mlit.go.jp/common/000161426.pdf

Basically, the plan is to tunnel 11 km from Oshiage (end of Keisei Oshiage Line) to Sengakuji (Keikyu Main Line), parallelling the Toei Asakusa line, with a "New Tokyo Station" to be built about a block away from Tokyo Station.

http://www.sankeibiz.jp/images/news/111124/mca1111241120006-p1.jpg

Needless to say, even by Japanese standards this will be stupidly expensive, the official estimate is 3,500-3,700億円, or ~US$4.5 billion if I'm getting my zeroes right. Variants of this plan have been floating around for over ten years (see also Japanese Wikipedia (http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B5%85%E8%8D%89%E7%B7%9A%E7%9F%AD%E7%B5%A1%E6%9 6%B0%E7%B7%9A%E6%A7%8B%E6%83%B3)), but I just don't see this moving forward anytime soon. :td:

Needless to say, even by Japanese standards this will be stupidly expensive, the official estimate is 3,500-3,700億円, or ~US$4.5 billion if I'm getting my zeroes right. Variants of this plan have been floating around for over ten years (see also Japanese Wikipedia (http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B5%85%E8%8D%89%E7%B7%9A%E7%9F%AD%E7%B5%A1%E6%9 6%B0%E7%B7%9A%E6%A7%8B%E6%83%B3)), but I just don't see this moving forward anytime soon. :td:

I think that the only way this project sees the light of day is if Tokyo wins its bid for the 2020 Olympics.

This is the section that Keisei already runs the Narita<->Haneda express through though, no? It's listed as 都営浅草線(アクセス特急). Weird that don't show this as being available on the English version of the Keisei website.

So, when they refer to shaving 10 or so minutes, they're probably referring to the Access Express via Oshiage being that much faster, both to Tokyo, Sengakuji, and beyond.

http://g.co/maps/usp92

Seems a bit wasteful if you ask me. I'd rather see that money used to build more 都内 lines :p

I think that the only way this project sees the light of day is if Tokyo wins its bid for the 2020 Olympics.

+1

I expect it will be part of Tokyo's pitch to the IOC during their review of "operational matters".

Another white elephant project that funnels infrastructure money into large construction companies. It seems that the sole purpose is to route the train traffic around the Asakusa line, where the stations are underground and do not have additional tracks to allow overtaking of local trains by nonstop trains.

The current Access Tokkyu (towards HND) and Airport Kaitoku (towards NRT) trains are already nonstop on Keikyu's tracks between Shinagawa and HND but still take around 1:43. What I would do is take a trainset with front facing seats, go nonstop between NRT and Aoto, make fewer stops on the Asakusa line and call it the Haneda/Narita Liner.

While I'm all for decreasing travel between NRT and HND, I have to side with those who argue against the cost. It simply doesn't seem with the effort and expense.

There was also a proposal a few years ago to build a much shorter spur line from the Asakusa Line to the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station, which would be similarly effective in tying Tokyo Station to the airports but would not help the transfer time by rail between the airports.

There's another plan that makes a bit more sense if you ask me. Since HND is set to overtake NRT as Tokyo's main international airport, Tokyo Monorail is planning to extend their line from current terminus Hamamatsucho to at least Shinbashi and possibly Tokyo station:

http://blog-imgs-45-origin.fc2.com/n/e/k/neko8news/mono0.jpg

Apparently this would cost "only" 1,000億円 to Tokyo, or a tiddling ~350億円 to Shinbashi. Don't hold your breath though, as they first need to convert Hamamatsucho from a single-track dead end into a dual-track station, which is apparently going to take 6.5 years and work hasn't started yet.

Tokyo Monorail is planning to extend their line from current terminus Hamamatsucho to at least Shinbashi and possibly Tokyo station.

Amateurs. The real Mickey Mouse project would be to connect the monorail with the one at Urayasu. Loop up to Ueno for the full white elephant.

Amateurs. The real Mickey Mouse project would be to connect the monorail with the one at Urayasu. Loop up to Ueno for the full white elephant.

Don't forget the monorails in Chiba, Ofuna, and Naha. A lot more people would go to Okinawa if they could get there by train.

don't forget the monorails in chiba, ofuna, and naha. A lot more people would go to okinawa if they could get there by train.

このモノレールは那覇行きです。停車駅は札幌、仙台、東京、名古屋、京都、大阪、広島、福岡、鹿児島中央、 終点那覇です。
:)

このモノレールは那覇行きです。停車駅は札幌、仙台、東京、名古屋、京都、大阪、広島、福岡、鹿児島中央、 終点那覇です。
:)

I guess there should also be a line that goes to ホノルル then :)

<snip> Since HND is set to overtake NRT as Tokyo's main international airport <snip>

I haven't read anything about this... what's their plan again?

Don't forget the monorails in Chiba, Ofuna..... Typical Kanto centric response :p !

I haven't read anything about this... what's their plan again? You haven't noticed the airlines setting up 2 major LCC at NRT....the shift of premium routes and flights for the Japanese airlines to HND has already begun.

Typical Kanto centric response :p !

Well, I figured you'd want to link up the most populated metropolitan areas first. Then you could link in the Osaka and Kita-Kyushu networks on the way to Okinawa.

I guess there should also be a line that goes to ホノルル then :)

Until they get the proposed light rail system in place, the only train line you could link into is the Pearlridge Monorail.

This week's Toyo Keizai magazine noted that 2012 is the first year in >100 years when no new train lines are scheduled to open anywhere in Japan. (There are some construction projects ongoing in the background, of course.)

This week's Toyo Keizai magazine noted that 2012 is the first year in >100 years when no new train lines are scheduled to open anywhere in Japan. (There are some construction projects ongoing in the background, of course.)

Not a new line, but a section of the Kita Rias line from Tanohata to Rikuchunoda stations is scheduled to reopen in April 2012.

Other sections of the Kita Rias and Minami Rias lines are scheduled to be reopened throughout 2013 and 2014.

And the Ginza Line is getting new train sets this year:

http://www.tokyometro.jp/series1000/index.html

Apparently they are aping the color scheme that the trains had decades ago, before they switched from steel to aluminum.

But no new lines anywhere in Japan.