How Railway Timetables Showcase Efforts to Speed Up and Increase Passenger Numbers

A railroad schedule is a “train operation diagram” that shows the operation of all trains on a particular line. The timetable that we are all familiar with is a chart that shows only the arrival and departure times of trains at each station. Japan’s railroads boast accuracy unmatched anywhere in the world. If we know the railroad timetable, which supports the operation behind the scenes, we can learn more about the railroads. We asked Koji Inoue, author of “Railroad Diagrams: An Inquisitive Reader,” about the origins of the railroad schedule.

A “train operation chart” is a long horizontal piece of paper with station names on the vertical axis and time scales on the horizontal axis, and a line connecting the arrival, departure, and transit times of each station for each train. It is said to be indispensable for train operation, but what is its usefulness?

In the operation chart, all trains are represented by lines, so it is easy to understand at a glance the relationship between individual trains, such as overtaking or passing each other. It is difficult to understand if you use a timetable. For passengers, this information is not necessary, but for those who actually operate the trains, the relationship between trains is very important.

Each train is numbered, and by looking at the numbers, the train controllers can tell at a glance where the train is currently running and what the impact will be if it is delayed.

Railroad schedules are indispensable for planning and managing train operations. For a railroad company, it is a form of transportation service that shows how many trains are running at what times of the day and to what destinations, and can be positioned as a “product.

The timetable reflects what kind of transportation service we want to provide, or what kind of transportation service is appropriate for the situation. For example, if there is a demand for 10,000 passengers every day and we run trains that only have a capacity for 5,000 passengers every day, we will not have enough transportation capacity. Naturally, the idea of running trains that match the demand would come into play.

Another way of thinking about this is to stimulate demand. For example, looking at the Tokaido Shinkansen down trains in the morning, there used to be only trains departing Tokyo for Hakata, but now there are also trains departing from Shinagawa and Shin-Yokohama. For example, the Shinagawa departure is more accessible than Tokyo Station for those living on the west side of Tokyo, and Shin-Yokohama is more beneficial for those living near Yokohama. The intention is to create new demand by offering early morning trains from Shinagawa and Shin-Yokohama so that people living in the vicinity can get to Osaka earlier.

In addition, there are cases where a flagship train with a limited number of stops is operated to make a claim such as “an express train that runs in the shortest xx minutes” on a certain section of the route,” he says.

For example, the Hokkaido Shinkansen has a train that stops at only a few stations to make the trip faster. For example, the first train of the morning, the Hayabusa No. 1, stops at all stations after Ninohe, so it takes more than 4 hours and 20 minutes from Tokyo to Hakodate. With the No. 7, however, it only stops in Shin-Aomori after Morioka. With the No. 7, however, it only stops in Shin-Aomori after Morioka, making it less than 4 hours to Hakodate (3 hours 57 minutes). That’s one way to set it up.

The more stations a train passes through, the faster it arrives, but this is inconvenient for those who use the stations it passes through. It is important to find the right balance between the two. Also, increasing the number of trains will make the system more convenient, but it is not possible to draw a limitless number of “lines”. In reality, there are various restrictions.

For example, if a four-car train is converted to an eight-car train during rush hour, the capacity of each train will be doubled, but there is a possibility that one four-car train will not be able to run and other trains will be forced to run. Since the number of available cars and crew members is limited, we also have to consider how to balance these factors.

You might think that if there is a shortage, we should just add more cars, but it is a big capital investment, costing hundreds of millions of yen to build one car. For example, building one 16-car Shinkansen train is a multi-billion yen investment.

In addition, it requires space for the cars and extra expenses for inspections. Without considering whether the investment is worth it, it is impossible to make the decision to increase the number of cars. So we generally make do with the vehicles we have on hand.

There is also a serious shortage of crew members. Recently, Nagano Electric Railway has reduced the number of limited express trains because of a shortage of crew members. Also, when deciding where a faster train will overtake a slower train, connection issues must be considered. This becomes even more of a problem for those in charge when there are branches of the line in the middle of the line.

The Shinkansen lines of JR East in particular are like a puzzle with so many restrictions. First of all, between Tokyo and Omiya, Tohoku, Joetsu, and Hokuriku are all common. The Joetsu and Hokuriku lines are also common between Omiya and Takasaki. In addition, the Yamagata Shinkansen branches from Fukushima and the Akita Shinkansen branches from Morioka. The Shinkansen also has a single-track section in the middle of the line, partly due to the fact that it is connected to a conventional rail line. This inevitably limits the number of “lines” that can be drawn.

In addition, the Akita Shinkansen and Yamagata Shinkansen run in conjunction with Tohoku Shinkansen trains, so the Tohoku Shinkansen is also affected. This in turn limits the number of “lines” on the Tohoku Shinkansen. Furthermore, if they want trains going to Hokkaido to run as quickly as possible, the restrictions will be so severe that any changes to one part of the line will affect the other parts of the line. I think the people in charge have a tough job.

Inoue says that while he can only imagine the hardships faced by those in charge of creating timetables, the reality is that it takes the united efforts of various divisions of a railroad company to create a timetable that can transport more people more quickly.

For example, on the Tokaido Shinkansen, all Nozomi trains now stop at Shin-Yokohama, Shin-Kobe, and Shinagawa. The strategy was to increase the competitiveness of the Shinkansen to attract more passengers, but the increased number of stops has increased the time required for the Nozomi train to travel between Tokyo and Osaka from 2.5 hours to several minutes.

So we increased the performance of the trains, the maximum speed, and the speed through curves, and now it is back to 2.5 hours. This was only possible through the cooperation of the department in charge of rolling stock and the supporting departments of electric power, facilities, and civil engineering.

The rapid maintenance of the cars at Tokyo Station has also contributed to the increase in the number of trains. It is quite an extraordinary task to unload passengers from an arriving train, clean it, load passengers back onto it, and immediately turn it around. This contributes to high frequency operation and convenience for passengers.

Therefore, I would like you to think of the timetable as an expression of the overall strength of the railroad company. We only look at the final timetable and talk about this and that, but behind the scenes there is a great deal of work that goes into it. Usually, only the driver and conductor are visible to passengers, but it is only when everyone works together that the trains move properly.

Although we don’t usually see railroad schedules, we can learn about various aspects of railroads by coming into contact with them.