Long-term impact of the Shinkansen on rail and air demand: analysis with data from Northeast Japan

This paper analyses how the high-speed rail construction in Northeast Japan (Tohoku) has affected total demand and interregional travel patterns. We use annual interregional passenger data from 1989 to 2012 and apply regression analysis with the demand between Tokyo and the Tohoku prefectures as the dependent variable. We distinguish particularly between the ‘Full-’ and the ‘Mini-’ Shinkansen, where the latter are branch services running with reduced speed. We find that the ‘Full-Shinkansen’ quickly increases rail and total public transport trips and generates additional rail demand year on year. The ‘Mini-Shinkansen’ impacts are less pronounced. Furthermore, our analysis shows that the Shinkansen has shifted some demand from air to rail once it started operation and increased rail share gradually. We therefore suggest that predictions of demand impacts should carefully distinguish immediate from gradual impacts. We also discuss differences in regional demand in that not all prefectures have gained equally from Shinkansen construction.     

Evaluation of expected maximum values of forces acting on containers and lashing rods on a container ship

The appearance of a number of large container ships in the 8000 TEU range raises the importance of a plan for container lashing arrangements on deck in relation to the design of the ship. Therefore, it is expected that a new method for evaluating the lashing arrangements on deck will be introduced which is applicable regardless of the ship's size and the lashing pattern, instead of using the standards of several different societies, as happens at present. To evaluate the lashing arrangements on deck, the expected maximum values of the forces acting on the containers and lashing rods should be evaluated. This paper presents a new method of evaluating the container lashing arrangements on a container ship using an "acceleration ellipsoid." The applicability of the acceleration ellipsoid to an evaluation of the expected maximum values of the forces was examined by comparing the expected maximum values of the forces calculated by the long-term distribution calculation known as the "Fukuda method," to those calculated using the acceleration ellipsoid. By comparing these results, it was confirmed that the expected maximum values of the forces calculated using the acceleration ellipsoid were not less than those calculated through by the long-term distribution calculation. It is concluded that the acceleration ellipsoid can be used to evaluate the expected maximum values of the forces acting on containers and lashing rods. Received: December 14, 2000 / Accepted: March 22, 2001     

Estimation of left-turning vehicle maneuvers for the assessment of pedestrian safety at intersections

Improving pedestrian safety at intersections remains a critical issue. Although several types of safety countermeasures, such as reforming intersection layouts, have been implemented, methods have not yet been established to quantitatively evaluate the effects of these countermeasures before installation. One of the main issues in pedestrian safety is conflicts with turning vehicles. This study aims to develop an integrated model to represent the variations in the maneuvers of left-turners (left-hand traffic) at signalized intersections that dynamically considers the vehicle reaction to intersection geometry and crossing pedestrians. The proposed method consists of four empirically developed stochastic sub-models, including a path model, free-flow speed profile model, lag/gap acceptance model, and stopping/clearing speed profile model. Since safety assessment is the main objective driving the development of the proposed model, this study uses post-encroachment time (PET) and vehicle speed at the crosswalk as validation parameters. Preliminary validation results obtained by Monte Carlo simulation show that the proposed integrated model can realistically represent the variations in vehicle maneuvers as well as the distribution of PET and vehicle speeds at the crosswalk.     

The reconstruction of transportation and environmental infrastructure in rural areas

On March 11, 2011 a massive, magnitude 9.0 earthquake destroyed most of the rural areas along the Pacific Coast of eastern Japan, an area that had been facing issues of depopulation and aging even before the earthquake. In this paper I discuss reconstruction plans for depopulated rural areas from the perspectives of transportation infrastructure, residential areas, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, consensus building, and nature restoration. We must take a “backcasting” approach to sustainable development, one in which planning strategies lead to successful outcomes. An organizational and planning support platform is needed to build a consensus within an area.     

中间车端部结构压缩性能评价

当运行的列车与障碍物相撞时，通常来说，头车和中间车都会受到可能损坏端部结构的冲击。由于车体底架的强度高于车辆其他部件的强度，因此，就意味着两相邻车辆底架在同一高度碰撞和一辆车底架跨骑在另一辆车底架上2种情况车体的变形模式是明显不同的。因此，在讨论碰撞中列车的安全特性时，弄清楚列车中中间车端部结构的碰撞性能就显得尤为重要。     

Performance evaluation of the inside intersection median-turn lane markings on the mobility and safety performance of signalized intersections in the Philippines and Japan

Signalized intersections are one of the key elements that play a vital role at road networks. The efficiency and safety levels of intersections can affect the operational performance of the whole system. In general, turning traffic, especially median-turning, has always been considered as the most problematic movement in the operation of intersections. This becomes more critical with high turning demand where exclusive turning lanes (single or double) can be assigned to provide larger capacities for these movements and to reduce conflicts with through traffic. However, improper treatment of median-turn lanes could create cross-maneuvering behavior which may limit the expected increase in capacity and create safety issues. Median-turning lane markings are commonly provided at intersections in Japan to guide drivers while turning which is expected to reduce the conflicts among turning traffic. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, exclusive median-turn lanes are installed at intersections without proper treatment which may contribute to the low mobility and safety levels. Therefore, this study evaluated the impact of inside intersection lane markings on the operation of median-turn lanes in terms of mobility and safety. The vehicle maneuver, speed and interactions between the turning traffic were utilized as essential components for the assessment. The empirical analysis shows that conflicting trajectories were present on double turn lanes without median-turn lane markings in the Philippines, which resulted to serious conflicts among the turning vehicles and negatively influenced the turning speed and saturation flow rate of the turn lanes. On the other hand, the turn lane markings in Japan, provided a positive impact to mobility and safety of the turning lanes. Moreover, it was also found that the geometric characteristics and traffic signal phasing scheme highly affects the capacity and safety condition of signalized intersections.     

Verification and validation study of URANS simulations for an axial waterjet propelled large high-speed ship

The accurate prediction of waterjet propulsion using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is of interest for performance analyses of existing waterjet designs as well as for improvement and design optimization of new waterjet propulsion systems for high-speed marine vehicles. The present work is performed for three main purposes: (1) to investigate the capability of a URANS flow solver, CFDSHIP-IOWA, for the accurate simulation of waterjet propelled ships, including waterjet–hull interactions; (2) to carry out detailed verification and validation (V&V) analysis; and (3) to identify optimization opportunities for intake duct shape design. A concentrated effort is applied to V&V work and performance analysis of waterjet propelled simulations which form the focus of this paper. The joint high speed sealift design (JHSS), which is a design concept for very large high-speed ships operating at transit speeds of at least 36 knots using four axial flow waterjets, is selected as the initial geometry for the current work and subsequent optimization study. For self-propelled simulations, the ship accelerates until the resistance equals the prescribed thrust and added tow force, and converges to the self propulsion point (SPP). Quantitative V&V studies are performed on both barehull and waterjet appended designs, with corresponding experimental fluid dynamics (EFD) data from 1/34 scale model testing. Uncertainty assessments are performed on iterative convergence and grid size. As a result, the total resistance coefficient for the barehull case and SPP for the waterjet propelled case are validated at the average uncertainty intervals of 7.0 and 1.1%D, respectively. Predictions of CFD computations capture the general trend of resistance over the speed range of 18–42 knots, and show reasonable agreement with EFD with average errors of 1.8 and 8.0%D for the barehull and waterjet cases, respectively. Furthermore, results show that URANS is able to accurately predict the major propulsion related features such as volume flow rate, inlet wake fraction, and net jet thrust with an accuracy of ~9%D. The flow feature details inside the duct and interference of the exit jets are qualitatively well-predicted as well. It is found that there are significant losses in inlet efficiency over the speed range; hence, one objective for subsequent optimization studies could be maximizing the inlet efficiency. Overall, the V&V work indicates that the present approach is an efficient tool for predicting the performance of waterjet propelled JHSS ships and paves the way for future optimization work. The main objective of the optimization will be reduction of powering requirements by increasing the inlet efficiency through modification of intake duct shape.     

Fostering partnerships towards sustainable urban mobility from the national to local level: Matsuyama,Japan and Yogyakarta,Indonesia

This paper analyzes the implementation of Japan's and Indonesia's national frameworks aiming to promote sustainable urban mobility by placing transport policy coordination as pre-requisites under the decentralization regime. It takes two cities, Matsuyama and Yogyakarta, as the case studies. The analytical framework developed here highlights multi-level government coordination, coordination among local stakeholders, and regulator–operator coordination. The analysis is based on policy documents review, field observation, hearing and a questionnaire survey. The study shows some good practices as well as drawbacks of the schemes and produces lessons-learned from Japan's ‘omnibus town scheme’ to improve Indonesia's public transport program and for other cities in developing countries.     

辅助框架内部环形结构对车体侧面的增强作用

为确保铁道车辆的生存空间,可将辅助框架连接成车内环形结构附在车体内侧,以提高车体的强度.通过静强度试验和有限元分析,认为该方法可行.