Hankai Tramway sees a rebound after Sakai City lends a helping hand

Tram parked at Hamadara-Ekimae, the end station in Sakai City of the Hankai Line. GMANews.TV

SAKAI, Japan – The Hankai Line used to be the main mode of transportation for the Japanese in Osaka and Sakai in the Osaka prefecture since the early part of Meiji Era (1868-1912).

 

With modernization, however, comes motorization, a fact that financially hit Hankai Tramway Co. Ltd., which operates the transport system, as less and less passengers came to patronize this particular mode of public transportation.

 

In addition, government policy in 1998 urged the public to use bicycles as a way of helping the fight against global warming.

 

In the struggle to get back on its feet, Hankai Tramway entered into a 10-year partnership with the City Government of Sakai to escape financial ruin and better serve its commuters. 

 

The arrangement is something similar to the public-private partnership (PPP) initiative under the Aquino administration, only the conceptual framework has been reversed, in the case of Hankai Tramway, in the sense that the private sector is chasing after government for financial assistance. 

 

In the Philippines, government is seeking private sector support under the initiative, which aims to tap private sector funds for 57 infrastructure projects worth P852.13 billion.

 

Sakai-Hankai partnership is now in its fourth year, Toshinari Mukaiyama, Hankai Tramway manager, said to Southeast Asian reporters during a tram-ride interview.

 

"It's because of government policy... that encourage people to use either automobile or motor mobile or bicycle," he said in Japanese.

 

"Government policy is not in favor of street car or tram in modern times. Therefore, people started to use cars, bikes rather than tram train," he said.

 

As a result, Hankai Tramway had to lay off people as part of cost-cutting measures to keep the company and its service from shutting down, Mukaiyama said.

Hankai Tramway Co. Ltd. manager Toshinari Mukaiyama (center) talks to media participants in the Sakai-ASEAN media tour. GMANews.TV

Running on govt subsidy

 

The Hankai Line is the oldest tramway in Sakai, spanning over 14 kilometers of rail in the cities of Sakai and Osaka. Hankai Tramway also operates 41 stations and 38 tram trains.

 

Sakai City government is subsidizing the tramway, pegging the fare at ¥200 for the whole ride for adults and ¥100 for children.

 

"Mainly, subsidy comes from city government of Sakai to repair the railway and for offering cheaper fare," Mukaiyama said.

 

If the company needs a new train, the Japanese central government comes in to help buy one, he added.

 

Hankai Tramway still has six years to turn in a profit, Mukaiyama said.

 

The goal, according to the Hankai official, is to attract more people to patronize this mode of public transportation, build more stations, and improve the service. 

 

By February 2015, the operator will add another station.

 

Apart from increasing ridership, Hankai Tramway is also tapping the tourism and hospitality sector by operating the tram for special occasions for a certain fee, Mukaiyama said.

 

The media tour for the 2014 Sakai ASEAN Week was organized and sponsored by the city government of Sakai in cooperation with several private groups.  – VS, GMA News