Analysis of the structural characteristics of the station catchment area in Japan

Abstract

This paper analyses the structural characteristics of station catchment areas in Japan. For the case study, the authors selected a corridor through which three railway companies have parallel operations. The station catchment area is calculated for each mode of transportation. The relationships between the size of the station catchment area and the station type and interval are analysed. The major findings match the authors’ predictions: 1) the station catchment areas for each transportation mode differ in size. In descending order of size, these are car, bus, two-wheels, and walking; 2) the larger the station interval, the larger the station catchment area; 3) stations at which express trains stop tend to have larger station catchment areas. A direction for further research is also suggested.