Japan's trains move in eco-friendly ways (Feature)

By Chie Matsumoto Sep 16, 2008, 8:35 GMT

Tokyo - Japan's railways beat freeways. Taking trains is one of the safest, fastest and more eco-friendly ways to get from point A to B in Japan.

Taking a short nap or watching a favourite television programme on a mobile phone during the many hours Japanese spend commuting by train is more pleasant than calculating how many pollutants you are emitting or how much money is wasted on gasoline while being stuck on heavily congested freeways.

Japan's railways, contrary to many of its European counterparts, cannot complain about dwindling passenger numbers or budget woes.

The Association of Japanese Private Railways sees a general trend of an increasing train use. Passenger numbers on 16 private railway companies rose 2.7 per cent and that of regular commuters went up 1.8 per cent in 2007 - both marking an increase for the third straight year.

This year, during the peak vacation season in mid-August, the Japan Railway (JR) group companies said more travelers favoured trains as a means of transportation rather than airplanes or cars amid rising oil prices. The number of train travelers increased five years in a row, the companies said.

Taking trains is already more eco-friendly than driving. According to Japan Railway East Co, a car produces 172 grams of carbon dioxide when it transports one person for 1 kilometre, while trains emit only 18 grams of CO2.

But Japan's leading train company went even further, shaving off another 6 grams of CO2 emissions by introducing a new brake system and a stainless steel body in 2000.

The carriage's body was slimmed down from the previously used heavy steel plates as less weight means less energy consumption and the brake system re-distributes energy generated by braking to operate running trains.

'If you are in Tokyo area, you are very likely on one of our eco-trains,' Hideyuki Goto, a JR East spokesman, said. The company, spun off the state-run National Railways in the 1980s, transports more than 16 million passengers a day in central and northern Japan.

JR has upgraded 85 per cent of its trains to eco-trains, other private railways are following suit across Japan.

Wind and thermal powers generation efforts add to the company's eco credentials. As of 2007, 34 per cent of JR East's trains that crisscross the great metropolis were operated by thermal power and 23 per cent by wind power, Goto said. The rest ran on electricity.

JR East recently introduced a train version of a hybrid car, a competition to the popular eco-friendly vehicles, which run on gasoline and electricity.

The world's first hybrid train was greeted by enthusiastic crowds of train spotters and environmentalists on its maiden trip in the mountainous Nagano province last year.

It relies on a propulsion system combining a motor powered by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and an improved diesel engine. The batteries are charged whenever the brakes are applied.

JR East said it has developed the hybrid train to save energy, limit the emission of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and reduce noise. After the introduction of a three-car hybrid train, the rural Koumi Line now cuts emissions of nitrogen oxides by 60 per cent compared to diesel-generated trains.

The hybrids, which are a substitute for regional trolleys, which have no electricity supplies, are part of the efforts to keep railway transport alive in rural areas, where some railway companies had to close down their money-losing operations.

As Japan's society ages, the increasing number of elderly people are a prime target group for the train operators.

In response to that trend, railway companies have extended their eco-efforts to improving community development, in particular in rural regions.

The government and private train companies have started a 'compact city project,' in which they bring public facilities such as shops and hospitals close to train stations as well as taxi and bus terminals, a spokesman for the Association of Japanese Private Railways said.

'We are trying to establish an infrastructure where people don't rely on cars,' he said. 'We believe that more people would use trains if it is more convenient.'