A Case Study of User Evaluation and Production Cost Saving Method of High Quality Interior Space in Kyusyu Shinkansen Tsubame

Abstract

In 2004, the Kyushu Shinkansen railway train Tsubame Series 800 started operation. The car rooms where traditional craftworks produced from materials in the Kyushu region are used suggest that a specific design strategy should be introduced into future means of public transport. In this research, we conducted questionnaires on users' evaluation of the Kyushu Shinkansen Tsubame. Furthermore we interviewed the representatives of the related companies and analyzed the problems and solutions regarding the costs of manufacturing of the Kyushu Shinkansen Tsubame in order to search for a method of introducing an optimum design strategy adaptable to the local climate into the interior spaces of the means of public transport.