Project News

During the period of April 3rd to 14th, 2023, the first training program was conducted at Tokyo International Center of JICA. 15 members from the Department of Rail Transport participated in this comprehensive training, attending a series of lectures with a wide range of knowledge for the creation of mass rapid transit master plan. Experts and academia delivered lectures on various topics, including formulation of urban railway master plan, demand forecasting, urban development around stations, Transit Oriented Development (TOD), and through-operation services.

(1) Lectures: A series of lectures covered various aspects about formulation of railway master plan as below;

• Demand forecast by Prof. Iwakura, Shibaura Institute of Technology, including the role of demand forecast in the MP, detail step of demand forecasting, important data for demand forecasting, and key implications for BMR.
• Tokyo Metropolitan Area MP by Mr. Ito, Distinguished Research Fellow, Japan Transport and Tourism Research Institute, including history of MP, organization for planning, planning specifications, various financial schemes for railway development, and recommendations for BMR (Bangkok Metropolitan region) MP.
• Sustainable railway development projects by Prof. Morichi, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, including railway network in the long term, sustainable railway operation, sustainable urban structure with urban railway.
• Railway development in Thailand by Prof. Fukuda, Nihon University, including TOD, accessibility to the railway station, and walkability analysis.

(2) Site visit: The group visited several sites including railway facilities and urban development as below;

• JR Takanawa Gateway station, including Urban development around the station and new station with the up-to-date technologies which are being promoted by JR East
• Toranomon Hills station, being developed in a collaboration of Tokyo Metro, UR, and Mori Building Co., Ltd, as an integral development of road, railway, and urban development.
• Toyo Rapid Railway: They experienced through operation between Metro Tozai Line and Toyo Rapid Railway and visited urban development around Yachiyo-Midorigaoka station hosted by the representative from Yachiyo city, and the urban development around Funabashi-Nichidai Mae station guided by the Urban Renaissance Agency (UR).
• Utsunomiya Light Rail Transit (LRT) hosted by the staffs from Utsunomiya LRT.
• Karasuyama line up until Karasuyama Station was provided by JR East. The battery-electric multiple unit train running on the Karasuyama line are designed to run on both electrified tracks and run with batteries when operating on non-electrified sections, providing valuable insights for the delegates.

At the closing ceremony, Dr. Pichet Kunadhamraks, Director-General of DRT, conveyed his gratitude to JICA and the JICA Expert team for their support. This training event highlights the deepening collaboration between Japan and Thailand, setting the stage for future advancements in sustainable railway system.