Research on the Effects of Earthquake Early Warning System for Disaster Reduction of Railway Network in Tokyo Metropolitan Area

Abstract

Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system was originally developed and introduced to control a Shinkansen (bullet train) when earthquake occurs; However, this system has also been introduced to conventional lines and private company trains. In this research, the lead time between EEW and the arrival of S-wave was calculated for all the railway networks in the Tokyo metropolitan area assuming the occurrence of the northern Tokyo Bay earthquake, and the effects of disaster reduction were analyzed. As a result, it was shown that the risk to passengers can be reduced drastically using EEW.