The Advocate-Messenger from Danville, Kentucky • 8

A8 THE ADVOCATE MESSENGER THURSDAY APRIL 27 2000 AdvocateWorld Tokyo commuters breathe easier By GARY SCHAEER Associated Press Writer TOKYO (AP) Twenty five years ago Tokyo's blue suited corporate warriors rook three things for granted: a job for life a fat bonus in December and a hellish commute every morn ing Today the promise of lifetime employment has been replaced by the threat of downsizing and those bonuses have gotten a lot leaner But while commutes can still be murder at least the trains as crowded as they used to be and might even become almost comfort able in the not too distant future used to have to pull back the passengers who couldn't squeeze their way in" said Makoto Egashira general man ager of marketing at East Japan Railway Co we can push them all in" Back in 1975 white gloved platform attendants stuffed the typical Tokyo rush hour train so full that the number of pas sengers averaged 221 percent of the designed capacity That average has dropped to 1S3 percent and commuters who once struggled to breathe can now manage to read a tightly folded newspaper Japan's prolonged economic slump is a factor After increasing for decades the number of commuter train passengers has fallen over the last nine years in part because there are fewer jobs to com mute to Most of the credit for the reduced crowding however How overcrowded can it get? By The Associated Press Descriptions by Transportation Ministry of what happens when commuter trains are filled beyond capacity: 100 PERCENT Every seat filled strap held every pole held Com fortable ride for all passengers 150 PERCENT Shoulders brush Riders can open newspaper 180 PERCENT Body to body contact the rule Commuters can read care fully folded newspaper 200 PERCENT Squeeze is on Newspapers are out but riders can still man age to read small format magazines 250 PERCENT Body movement impossible arms pinned Passengers unable to maintain balance as train rocks WHERE TO AVOID Tokyo's most crowded rush hour on Yamanote Line 28 sta tion elevated line circling capital College students work as part time pushers at busiest stops where overcrowding aver ages 237 percent of capacity: goes to the city's railroads and subways Their efforts to build new lines and run more trains over old ones have increased the capacity of the metropolitan rail network by 60 percent since 1975 outstripping a 40 percent growth in passengers But there is still a good deal of room for improvement After touring the busiest rail terminal in Janu ary Japan's minister of trans portation said the experience made him aware" of the need for new efforts to ease the squeeze on the metropoli tan 23 million daily passengers The next day a government commission submitted a 15 year plan recommending the construction or improvement of 18 lines serving greater 34 million inhabitants The proposed additions to the current 1300 mile system would reduce average rush hour crowding to 151 percent of capacity That's about the same as Paris or London meaning Tokyoites could look forward to brushing shoulders with their fellow passengers instead of trading elbows The bad news is the report say who is supposed to pick up the $43 billion tab And with demographers pre dicting that greater Tokyo's once exploding population will increase just 4 percent by 201 5 the city's railroads and sub ways are unenthusiastic about the idea of investing huge sums of money in new infrastruct ure Teito Rapid Transit Authori ty main opera tor is already struggling to complete three new lines at a cost of as much as $267000 a yard even though the num ber of its passengers has been flat the last five years new lines necessarily generate new demand" said Toshiaki Kogure a manager at operating section is nice for people who are already com muting by train but that alone justify the costs" The railroads and subways also know they can't count on the same level of financial support the govern ment provided for construction projects in years past efforts to spend its way out of recession have left the government with a heavier debt burden than other industrialized country $549 trillion or 130 percent of the gross national product Less than half of the lines proposed the government's previous 15 year blueprint are in operation today and many of the projects proposed the new plan will likely remain in limbo or their part rail roads and subways are trying Bi AP Photo 1 A white gloved platform attendant pushes the back of a commuter at Tokyo's JR Akabane station In 1975 a typical Tokyo rush hour train was 221 percent full and now the average has dropped to 183 to persuade the public to off the train during rush hour a policy East Japan Rail way's Egashira calls smarts not money" Incentives under considera tion by the transit companies include discounts on commuter passes valid only during off peak hours And the government has started talking about tax breaks for companies that introduce flex time work sched ules morning commute can be said Takabiro Suzuki a 26 year old graphic' designer with trains already coming every two min utes hard to see things get ting much better" first railroad creaks along with bloated staff subsidies By HAMZA HENDAWI Associated Press Writer CAIRO Egypt (AP) The document that gave Robert Stephenson and Co of Liverpool England the contract to build first rail way in 1851 lies pristine inside a glass case at a Cairo museum Not so the rail system that has grown to 3125 miles of track and carries more than 800 million passengers a year Weighted down by overstaffing low fares and underinvestment the first railroad in the Middle East and Africa has run at a loss for years Its equipment is dilapidated and service poor The Egyptian Railway Authority is able to operate its 1300 trains every day only through heavy state subsidies totaling $31 billion since 1995 businessmen may be eying the railways as a possible investment but politically it is not in the cards for the foreseeable future" said Olfat El Tohamy editor of the weekly invest ment newspaper Bourse Tarek Alouba country coordinator for the World International inance Corpo ration said there is clearly room for improve ment "We think there can be a number of things which the government can do to involve the pri vate sector One of these things is to concession out some departments or services to private operators" he said Privatization often the cure for moribund state enterprises is a solution not without prob lems or one officials worry about the political repercussions of layoffs from the bloat ed staff of 75000 or another the government fears conversion to private ownership would result in higher fares which could lead to a political backlash from riders accustomed to fares kept low by sub sidies "Railway services are not run for profit They have a social dimension that the government wants to said Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah deputy chairman of operations for the Railway Authority With a quarter of the 64 million peo ple living in poverty the government keeps train fares low In some cases what students pay for weekly passes on commuter trains covers only about 2 percent of the actual costs A first class round trip fare on a luxury non stop train over the 137 miles between Cairo and Alexandria runs 60 pounds or a little over $17 thanks to a $23 subsidy A third class one way ticket on a night train between two main cities is just 275 pounds or less than 80 cents A wide range of people war veterans police officers judges military personnel and journal ists are entitled to further discounts costing the Railway Authority millions of dollars more in lost revenues What passengers get for their reduced fares is less than an inefficient service Some trains chronically run late Accidents kill or injure hundreds every year The Railway Authority which operates under the Transport Ministry was allowed to raise fares in late 1999 for the first time in more than four years But the increases of up to 15 percent did not go far enough were told by the government to balance our expenditure and revenues by the year 2002 but it is a tough task and we have to find ways to do so without raising Abdullah the operations executive told The Associated Press at his office above Misr Station located in one of the busiest and most chaotic parts of downtown Cairo "In my personal opinion we shall not he able to meet the deadline" he said Investment projects started by the authority to generate income remain years from bringing in any revenue he sa id The projects include a commercial complex to replace a disused building owned by the author ity in downtown Cairo and a shipping complex near the Cairo working class suburb of Imbaba Politicians at various levels often intervene to prevent the authority from canceling service that proves a commercial failure rail officials say A recently built 425 mile industrial rail line linking the southern town of Qena the Red Sea port of Safaga and Abu Tartour near the Gulf of Suez cost $521 million Better Plants for your Home Annuals Perennials Vegetables Specializing in unique and unusual specimens Magnificent ancy Hostas Colorful Wave Petunias Delicious Heirloom Tomatoes Dragon Wing Begonias Variety of Hanging Baskets Beautiful Day Lilies Impatiens Begonias Other Bedding Plants Located on Ottenheim Chapel Gap Road on Hwy 643 or Just 910 Mile off Hwy 150 Crab Orchard Ky 606 355 2630 for fio er 23 A 1 3k ftt jPUyry' OZayW Instead of hauling cargo as intended it was put to use ferrying Muslims heading to Saudi Arabia for the recent pilgrimage season Monthly revenue has averaged onlj' $725 while maintenance costs run into millions of dol lars Another commercial disaster is a recently completed rail link running the 62 miles between the Western Desert oases of Baris and al Kharja It brings a monthly income of 10 pounds $289 run this service now just to keep the sand off the tracks and discourage thieves from steal ing the ties" Abdullah said On the Net: Egyptian government site on transport and investment policies: http wwwmisrnetidscgoveg MISSION MILLION DOLLARS Our mission is to lend a total of $4000000 between now and July 4 2000 Only $3000000 is Talk with us today about how we can create that for YOU! 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