For JR East, increasing the satisfaction of passengers is the foundation of the development strategy. The objective will be met by monitoring four pillars including the improvement of operation quality, satisfaction of passenger information, safe and secure environment and comfortable environment.
Interview with Hiroyuki WATANABE, Senior Manager East Japan Railway Company (JR East)
To earn the respect of customers and communities, JR East implements reforms for the supply of quality services with the purpose of becoming the no. 1 railway company regarding the customers’ satisfaction. JR East believes railway services are a supplier of social infrastructure and the company can contribute to the recovery of regional economies, as added value transport services increase the mobility of people and are a solution to many problems that Japan is facing.
Within JR East Group Management Vision V(Five)—Ever Onward, the company points out that it will generate new demand resources, such as tourism, by constantly promoting large projects including the launch of services on new lines. The company also explores different options for improving innovative transport services in urban areas. As the productive population in the east of Japan has begun to decrease (by 2020, the elderly will represent 30% of the people living in this region), JR East will be confronted with new challenges regarding the rail transport operations. Taking this challenge as an opportunity, the company will try to adopt new initiatives to increase accessibility and vary services.
Being responsible for railway transport, the company will adopt measures that would meet the needs of communities. For JR East, 2013-2015 is a period characterised by the prioritisation of reconstruction projects due to the damages caused by the earthquake in March 2011 – the segments located along the Pacific Coast affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake are reconstructed.
Regarding the metropolitan area of Tokyo, the Ueno-Tokyo railway will be opened in 2015 and the Utsunomiya, Takasaki and Joban transport services whose end point is now the Ueno Station will be connected to Tokyo Station from where there will be a transfer to the Tokaido railway. JR East estimates that this measure will have a beneficial impact by reducing the travel time and the agglomeration level between Tokyo and Ueno.
Regarding the intercity transport, when the Hokuriku Shinkansen- Kanazawa railway will open, in 2015, the travel time between Tokyo and Kanazawa will reduce from 2 hours and 30 min. Another company (JR Central) plans the construction of MaglevShinkansen between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka. Since there is a possibility of confusion with this project, please change as bellows.
This project will greatly improve the access to Tokyo from Kanazawa and Toyama, Hokuriku area. Hokuriku area is economically strong ties of Osaka so far, but will be tied also with Tokyo by Shinkansen. Local economy of Hokuriku area will be expected greatly development.
JR East plans to expand the ripple effect on developing urban development by increasing the value of stations and creating a new urban economic activity by implementing the development programme of end stations in Shinjuku, Shibuya, Yokohama, Chiba and Sendai (in the period 2017-2019). Another important project is that of reducing the surface of the Shinagawa depot (around 130 thousand square meters) for the development of the area between Shinagawa Station and Tamachi Station which has increased as an important hub providing link between the city of Tokyo and the rest of Japan. Thus, JR East has decided to build a new station between Shinagawa andTamachi, as core component of this urban development. The inauguration of the station might coincide with the opening of the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games from Tokyo 2020.
East Japan Railway Company (JR East) was established by the privatization of Japanese National Railways in 1987. JR East operation area is half of the main island. JR East owns infrastructure and operate high-speed trains, regional trains, inter-city trains and commuter trains in Tokyo metropolitan area, as an integrated company.
The Japanese and the local government have no shares in JR East, the company is listed on the stock market and foreign investors own about 30 % of shares now. The company has not received any subsidies from the Japanese and the local government at all since establishment. JR East is not restricted by the PSO (Passenger Service Obligations) or government intervention and there are no restrictions on non-transport business.
The company’s revenue was 2692 billion yen (EUR 22.4 billion), and profit was 192 billion yen (EUR 1.6 billion) in the 2013 fiscal year, about 30% of revenue came from non-transport business. JR East pays corporate taxes to the government under the same conditions of other industries and has not raised fares and charges since establishment (except VAT revision). In addition, the company invests in infrastructure renewal, rolling stock procurement, R&D by own funds.
JR East operates 13000 trains/day, and carries 17 million passengers/day and is one of the biggest railway companies in the world.
Mr. Hiroyuki WATANABE, Senior Manager East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Brussels Branch, talks in an interview for Railway Pro about JR East’s projects and development strategy, the importance of railway transport in the Japanese economy and the collaboration with local and central authorities to provide efficient and integrated transport.
What is the general market share of railway transport (on both segments, passenger and freight) in Japan?
Hiroyuki WATANABE: Passenger: 30% (Rail), 5% (Air), 65% (Road) (70% of commuters in Tokyo uses railways)
Freight: 4% (Rail), 30% (Water-borne), 65% (Road)
In Japan, the railways were selected as the backbone of the transport network prior to the economic boom. The private railway companies also expanded railway networks with housing and land development. As a result, cities have developed around railway stations and hence feeder access to the stations was also developed. Therefore, the share of railways among all transport modes in Japan is high.
How does JR East collaborate with the other operators to provide transport connections for a customer-oriented transport service?
Hiroyuki WATANABE: There are about 200 railway companies, including metro companies in Tokyo metropolitan area. Most of these companies, including JR East, are private integrated railway companies which own the infrastructure and operate the trains.We cooperate with other companies to provide passengers with a comfortable service without changing trains, through so-called “Thorough Operating Service”. We also cooperate on passenger information and alternative transport services when transport disruption occurs.
JR East focuses on projects aimed at delivering efficient services to meet mobility needs. What are the methods that seek to increase the attractiveness of passenger railway transport within the company?
Hiroyuki WATANABE: Listening to the customer is the starting point for enhancing the attractiveness of railways. We think a great deal about how we communicate with our customers. We launched a project to improve customer service quality 27 years ago and are now working on the enhancement of customer satisfaction from the following objectives:1)“Improvement of operation quality”, 2)“Satisfaction of passenger information”, 3)“Safe and secure environment” and 4) “Comfortable environment”.
What is the company’s development strategy over the next 5 years?
Hiroyuki WATANABE: As a railway company responsible for social infrastructure, we will not deviate from the basic principle that we contribute to the development of communities and regions by providing safe and reliable railway services. In addition, we are increasing the resilience of railway infrastructure against disasters, optimising the railway network in Tokyo’s metropolitan area and the Shinkansen networks. Since 2011, we have been cooperating with local communities to revitalize the Pacific coast network following the Tohoku Earthquake.
At the same time we are also engaged in the development of “ICT”, “energy and environment”, “technological Innovation” such as high-speed trains, “exploring new business fields” such as overseas business, and “reforming cooperate culture” such as making the best use of human resources.
What are the company’s plans regarding the accession of new railway markets?
Hiroyuki WATANABE: We are interested in the PSO and the open access service. Now we are considering the future possibility to enter EU railway market.
What are the construction projects initiated or to be initiated regarding the extension of the transport network?
Hiroyuki WATANABE: In Tokyo, in order to strengthen the north-south corridors, a new line between Tokyo and Ueno is scheduled to come into service on 14th March 2015. This project is a large-scale project and requires advanced technologies. Construction is taking place in central Tokyo and involves a new 3.8km line above the high-speed lines.
Regarding Shinkansen networks, the Hokuriku-Shinkansen from Nagano to Kanazawa is also planned to open on 14 March 2015. It currently takes 3 hours 51 minutes to travel between Kanazawa and Tokyo, but the new journey time will be cut to 2 hours 38 minutes. In addition, the Hokkaido-Shinkansen from Aomori to Hakodate is planned to open in spring 2016.
According to the local media (Japan), over the next years three new railways connected to the Haneda Airport will be built. In which phase are these projects and when would tenders be launched in view of their implementation?
Hiroyuki WATANABE: In order to meet the expected passenger increase, due to the expansion of landing slots at Tokyo Haneda International Airport, new access lines are now under consideration. However, specifications have not been fixed and also private investment is still being discussed.
What are the projects to be carried out to ensure efficient connections since Tokyo will be the host of the Olympics and Paralympics in 2020?
Hiroyuki WATANABE: Tokyo has hosted several major events, such as the World Cup and the Tokyo Marathon. The Olympics will be held during the school summer vacations. Therefore, in terms of transport services we are not greatly concerned.
Regarding the 2020 Olympic Games Tokyo, we will increase the number of train services and improve station facilities in order to provide more smooth, and comfortable services.
We will also provide additional information to attract tourists to visit Japan during the Olympics.
What are JR East’s main activities in Europe?
Hiroyuki WATANABE: Now our Brussels branch we seek for best in class technologies and products from EU manufactures. And also we provide our technologies and know-how which can meet the needs of European railway companies.
Regarding the EU-Japan railway relationship, the recent period has witnessed intense discussions on market opening. What is JR East’s position in this context?
Hiroyuki WATANABE: On 28 October we were delisted from WTO-GPA. However, our procurement policy, which is to ensure the transparency of procurement procedures and to procure the best in class products and services from abroad, remains the same.
What solution do you see to the above-mentioned situation and what are the main barriers that obstruct the accession of markets?
Hiroyuki WATANABE: The most important aspect of entering new markets is to correctly understand the characteristics of the market and the need of end-users. From this perspective, there does not seem sufficient mutual understanding of the respective railway market between Japanese and EU. Therefore, the railway industrial dialogue between Japanese and EU rail industries had been set up. The first round dialogue was held in Brussels in March 2014, and the second was held in Tokyo in December 2014.
by Pamela Luică
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