When train operation is disturbed due to an accident or natural disaster, passengers have to decide what they should do to get to their destination as early as possible. Unfortunately, however, this is not an easy task for passengers since sufficient information for decision-making is rarely provided to them. Therefore, we have developed a passenger support system which informs passengers of information on the optimal routes to their destinations by taking into consideration the predicted resumption time from the disturbance and the expected required time to each destination. More concretely, the system helps passengers decide whether to take the detour routes to their destinations or wait for the resumption of disturbed operation and continue their journey on the originally scheduled route. The system consists of an optimal route calculation engine and diversified man-machine interfaces, each of which is designed for a specific guidance application. Resumption time and required time to each destination are predicted based upon "resumption process model" whose parameters are determined by the statistical analysis of past data of train operation disturbances. The evaluation test of the prototype system is now being carried out by having a number of subjects in order to prove its effectiveness.

The ability to obtain passenger flow information in real time is expected to prove useful in application to railway traffic operations. In this report, forecasting of the number of gate passages according to the time of day was attempted using past data from automatic ticket-checking gates, and the number of passages by each origin station was estimated using the number of gate passages. As attributes of daily passage data were apparent, two prediction approaches were found to be applicable to stable data and irregular data. Consequently, the applicability criteria for each approach were clarified. Moreover, accurate forecasting of the number of OD (combination of Origin and Destination) passages was performed using the forecasting model developed.

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When train operations are disrupted, it is important to provide passengers with accurate information facilitating the rest of their trip. In Greater Tokyo especially, individual users need such information so that they can choose the best way to get to their destinations. We therefore developed a guidance system for users to determine whether to wait for a service to resume, or to take a detour route to their destinations. Our system arrives at decisions after computing estimated travel times to specific stations in the area where train services are disrupted. We devised a model for estimating of the amount of time required to travel between stations in the disrupted line. We analyzed past disruptions, and then established parameters for the model. The system provides an interface advising individual users whether it would be best to detour or not. We have carried out a field test in which subjects use their cell phones and investigated their route choices. The result has revealed that this system is effective; about 70% of subjects taking the advice arrived at their destination in the predicted time and more than 80% evaluated the system as useful. We conclude that even if the information represents only possible scenarios and the certainty is not complete, it can be accepted and effectively utilized.

The seawater exchangeable breakwater developed by Kitsukawa et al is one of the types that have water drawing mechanism applying wave breaking. Floating body units set in it move up and down with tidal level change, and keep effective water depth for wave breaking at all time, therefore sea side water can be drawn into harbor side efficiently. However, several important structural parameters are not known enough for practical design. In this study, we investigated appropriate values of clearance between floating body and side walls, opening area ratio of discharge pipe sectional area to submerged back wall area, and tested a difference in materials of floating body. Results are as follows: (a) Opening area ratio should be about 8% to perform efficient flow rate and low wave transmission toward harbor side. (b) Clearance should be about 100mm to realize smooth movement of floating body. (c) Kinds of material do not affected to capability of water exchange.