Screening the materials at the seminar in the Philippines
On June 26th, 2024, we held a seminar in Metro Manila, aiming to promote the understanding of the purpose and expected effects of the investment contract (foreign investment and loans) related to “the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1) Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Improvement” in the Republic of the Philippines and other JICA’s supports for urban railways and transportation projects.
As part of that, we screened the JICA-Net multimedia-based learning materials, the digest versions of “History and Lessons of Developing the Japanese Railway Network” (YouTube, external link) and“Changing People's Lives with the Delhi Metro -JICA's Cooperation for Building the Delhi Metro- “ (YouTube, external link), on a large screen in the venue.
Related organizations of the Philippines government attended the seminar (the Secretary and the Undersecretary for Railways of the Department of Transportation, the Undersecretary of the Department of Finance, the Undersecretary of the National Economic and Development Authority etc.), executives of municipalities along the railway alignment (Manila, Quezon, Parañaque, Pasay), Philippine National Railways Chairman, Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) President, Co-Investors involved in said JICA’s investment, and Japanese and Local media. There were about 100 participants in total.
Understand “Japan’s railway network” and “the achievements of the Delhi Metro” in 3 minutes
I learned the JICA-Net Library while working in the JICA Infrastructure Management Department.
Because I already knew that there were videos of the JICA Chair in activities of the previous department, in addition to them, I thought that there might be related videos in the JICA-Net Library. Then I searched on YouTube and found the materials.
I needed materials that gave the understanding intuitively and shared Japan and JICA’s strengths in urban railways and the vision with those who were not experts in a few minutes. Because the materials were suitable for this purpose, I used them.
The material explains key points of the development of the Japanese railway network in lecture format.
In the “History and Lessons of Developing the Japanese Railway Network”, JICA invited MORICHI Shigeru, Professor of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, and also Professor Emeritus at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and the University of Tokyo. In the first half, he looks back on the 150 years history of Japan’s development of the railway system overcoming various challenges and, in the second half, explains the establishment of the urban railway network in the metropolitan area, specifically showing Tokyo’s example.
The digest version of the material we used at this time focuses on 2 key points and simply summarizes content so that those who watch only the digest version can still understand.
“Changing People's Lives with the Delhi Metro -JICA's Cooperation for Building the Delhi Metro-” introduces 4 positive impacts to the society brought by the Delhi Metro (1. increase of safety awareness toward construction and operation stages, 2. high reliability of punctual public services, 3. introduction of women-only cars and vulnerable-users-friendly designs, and 4. improvement of air pollution and traffic congestion) according to the interviews of those involved. JICA has been supporting this project for many years through the cooperation of Japan.
Delhi Metro introduced women-only cars modeled after those in Japan.
To share the vision on urban railway
Through the materials, we were able to share with the participants the Japan’s experience and knowledge of establishing urban railway network, the significant efforts for Japanese ODA Loan and Technical Cooperation which JICA has been implementing in the Philippines, and the vision we should aim for through these.
The former material explains in an easy way how Japan solved the issues of urban transportation and established the railway network in a short time with a brief narration and understandable visuals.
Because the material includes information of Japan’s geography, it is an advantage for non-native people to understand easily.
Actually, there was a comment from a participant that this material gave a deeper understanding of the establishment and key points of the Japan’s railway network.
These materials are useful not only for the participants but also for implementing organizations and companies involved in urban railways policy in each country.
I hope Japan’s experience and knowledge will help in the sustainable railway management and development in various countries through the materials.
KAWAHASHI, Takehiro
Joan Buenavista
JICA Philippines
*The Material(s) mainly applied
History and Lessons of Developing the Japanese Railway Network
In this video, we will present Japan’s development experience in the Railway sector, titled “History and Lessons of Developing the Japanese Railway Network”.
In this lecture, two questions will be discussed.
The first question is, “How did Japan acquire railway technology?”
The second question is, “How did Japan establish the urban railway network in Tokyo and Osaka?”.
This video material will be useful for all people with an interest in the modernization and development of Japanese infrastructure, especially the Railway sector.
Changing People's Lives with the Delhi Metro -JICA's Cooperation for Building the Delhi Metro-
JICA has been cooperated with Delhi Metro under Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System Project over the years and the cooperation is often referred to as a shining example of Japan-India partnership. Some valuable social impacts brought by JICA through the project included increase of safety awareness toward construction and operation stages, high reliability of punctual public services, introduction of women only car and vulnerable-users-friendly designs, and improvement of air pollution and traffic congestion. This video introduces JICA's contribution to India and how the JICA’s cooperation changed Indian society with interview from officials of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and JICA.
The objective of the video is to introduce JICA’s cooperation and contribution to Indian society by focusing on Delhi Metro (Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System Project) and to promote an understanding of international cooperation between Japan and India.
●Related JICA Projects ：Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System Project Phase 1～4
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