2020 Olympics could paralyse Tokyo’s subway, study warns
Tokyo’s rush-hour commutes are already infamous for trains crammed full of passengers
Tokyo’s subway system is famed for its cleanliness and efficiency but also its carriage-busting crowds, and a crush of visitors for the 2020 Olympics could paralyse it, a new study has warned.
Professor Azuma Taguchi of Tokyo’s Chuo University used a mathematical model to predict the flow of passengers on a hypothetical day during the Summer Olympics, when some 1.3 million spectators might join eight million regular commuters in the greater Tokyo area.
“Fatal congestion” could occur in stations nearest to the Games venues while major transfer stations and key lines could be paralysed by overcrowding.
“We will see a 10-20 per cent increase in the number of passengers at major transfer stations as spectators join commuters,” he said.
“Once traffic congestion occurs, that will create long queues that would then halt the whole network,” he warned.
Taguchi added the most effective solution would be for commuters to stay home during peak Olympic travel hours, with workers taking a day off, working remotely or commuting at different hours.
A similar scheme was encouraged in London during the 2012 Olympics, when many Londoners decided to stay home or alter their travel schedules to avoid crowds.