Making Commuter Trains More Appealing as a "Method of Transportation"

This brief article introduces a special issue of JR EAST Technical Review that focuses on technical innovation for commuter trains. The author describes some of the building and design improvements, station facilities, and the railway vehicles of Japan (and those of other countries who are following the Japanese style), noting that all are impressive at the present but that there is something missing. While the vehicles and stations are roomy and the form is clean (being mechanical and linear with particular emphasis on function), these facilities remain bare and are somewhat devoid of beauty and human amenity. The author describes some efforts to beautify transportation vehicles, including those in Manila, in Strasbourg (France), in Moscow, and in Bangkok. The author concludes by emphasizing that the design or accommodations for any new system in Japan must have an appeal that is able to attract the interest of the general public in order for the decision-makers to readily support such a system.