Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.8, 2011

Design Strategy for Interior Space in High Speed Rail:A Case Study of the Kyushu Shinkansen TsubameMichie MASUBUCHI
Dept. of Urban Development
Utsunomiya city
1-1-5 Asahi Utsunomiya city, Tochigi
320-8540 Japan
E-mail: u1215@city.utsunomiya.tochigi.jp

Seiji IWAKURA
Professor
Civil Engineering
Shibaura Institute of Technology
1-7-5, Toyosu,Kouto-ku,Tokyo
135-8548, Japan
Fax: +81-3-5859-8401
E-mail: iwakura@sic.shibaura-it.ac.jp

Abstract: This report focuses on the design strategy for interior space in the Shinkansen
Tsubame Series 800 in Kyusyu, Japan and describes the challenges and solutions as obtained
from an interview survey of the companies engaged in producing the products used in the
train. With regard to construction of the Tsubame Series 800 trains, the companies involved
encountered many challenges. The following two solutions contributed greatly to overcoming
these challenges: 1)The “building up experiences” were used effectively, including thecontinuous improvements made in technologies, the effective use of knowledge accumulated
in departments in the companies other than those directly related to product production, andthe contributions of their research laboratories. 2)A flexible production system wasestablished, including the accumulated experiences and knowledge mutually shared by otherrelated departments in the companies, and the manual assembly processes added to theautomatic production lines.
Key Words: High Speed Rail, Interior Design Strategy, Interview Survey
1. INTORODUCTION
In 2004, the Kyushu Shinkansen railway train Tsubame (Swallow) Series 800 started
operation. This is the first train that ran on the Shinkansen railway line in the Kyushu region.
The interior spaces of cars in this train express the enthusiasm of JR Kyushu. An abundanceof timbers produced in Kyushu are used in the car rooms with white as the basic color. In
each passenger room, the seats covered with colored textiles in the Japanese style have an
attractive arrangement creating a luxurious impression. In each toilet room, the rush-worked
split curtain conveys a mildness specific to the natural material of the room, and is a completechange from the image of the interior spaces in the public traffic which pursue functionality
and comfort. 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.
The authors anticipate that such a design strategy will create a new value in the limited or
required time of transport and the limited space, especially in means of public transport which
are predominantly used for tourist trips, and will have beneficial influences not only on thepassengers and operators of these traffic means but also on the development of areas along1Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.8, 2011

Figure 1 Effects and background for the development of the Shinkansen Tubame 800
railways. If local colors are introduced into the key components of trains, the passengers willprobably have a naturally excited feeling of "I'm traveling," and railway operators will most
likely be able to improve their corporate brands. We also expect that the development of thisdesign strategy will contribute to the use of traditional craftwork technologies which aregradually decreasing in our country.
In this research, we interviewed the representatives of the related companies and analyzed the
problems and solutions regarding the manufacture of the Kyushu Shinkansen railway train
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. The "traditional
craftworks" covered by our research include those using local materials.
2. BACKGROUND FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF TRADITINAL CRAFTWORKS
INTO THE TUBAME
The background for the introduction of traditional craftworks in the Tsubame Series 800 train
will be described here based on interviews of the representatives of JR Kyushu as well as
published papers. When the Japan National Railways was privatized, motor vehicles
accounted for more than 70% of all the over land transport in the Kyushu region. JR Kyushu
was competing with other public transport companies to obtain a large share of the remaining
30% (1). To emphasize its sensibility value compared to those of its rivals (2) JR Kyushu
implemented a joint train development project with Mr. Eiji Mitooka, consulting designer at
Done Design Research Laboratory.
As shown in Fig. 1, JR Kyushu has had an impact on the users of its railway through its train
designs and has made efforts in responding to their demand since the Japan National Railways
was privatized. An abundance of timber was used for the floors, walls, handrails, and tables
in event trains such as “Forest in Yufuin.” Cowhides were used for all the seats in the
kamome (Seagull) train. JR Kyushu has enhanced the beauty and functionality of its trains for
20 years by actively developing characteristic coloring and train designs, through continual
reviews even while making occasional blunders (3) The Tsubame Series 800 train wasdeveloped as the final product under the train design strategy of using local materials
produced in the Kyushu region and the traditional craftworks in Japan, as described in Fig. 1.
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Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.8, 2011

Table 1 Answer items to Questions
Sense of spaciousness
Natural materials
Large seats
CarefulJapanese style
Private compartment
Sense of high quality
Appearance

Feel the passenger room is very large and spacious.
The atmosphere is good because natural materials are used, likewooden chairs.
The seats are large.
I would like to use the clean passenger room and seats carefully.
The atmosphere is good in the passenger rooms and in the Japanesestyle.
The seats have high backrests. So I feel as if I sit in my seat in a
private compartment.
My ordinary car appears to have as high a quality as the green car.
The design appearance is refined.

Sense ofspaciousness
Naturalmaterials
Large seats
Appearance

Seventies,
6%

CarefulSixties,
14%

Japanese style
Privatecompartment
Sense ofhigh quality

Fifties,22%

ages
Blank, 10 to 19,
4%
3%
Twenties,
16%
Thirties,
17%
Forties,17%

Figure 2 Image survey conducted by the questionnaires sent to the users of Shinkansen trains
The interior decoration of the Tsubame Series 800 train follows the principle of“compatibility of design with comfort,” uses white as the basic color, and increased the seat
pitch to create a comfortable interior space with the 2 + 2 array of seats in the train.
3. USERS’ EVALUATION OF THE INTERIOR DESIGNS OF TUBAME
3.1. Outline of survey
In the 2008 fiscal year, the Institute for Transport Policy Studies (Foundation) sent
questionnaires to the users of Shinkansen railways as a part of the post-assessment made on
the Kyushu Shinkansen railway. Several assessment items proposed by the current authors
also were adopted as questions about the train design images. The assessment reportsummarizes all the concepts and design policies as keywords as described in the papers andbooks written on the Kyushu Shinkansen railway.
Table 1 gives the answers to item questions. The questionnaire asked each of the Shinkansen
train Tsubame users to check multiple answer items that they selected. The number ofeffective answers was 1,807, with about 60% given by men and about 38% given by women.

3Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.8, 2011

ages 10 to 19
ages 20 to 29
ages 30 to 39

Sense of Natural
spacious- materials
ness

Large
seats

Appearance

Carefully Japanese Private
stylecompartment

Sense ofhighquality

Figure 3 Appraisals by sex and age bracket
3.2. Results of survey on the designs of the trains running on Kyushu Shinkansen
railwaya)Trend of all the effective answers
Figure 2 shows the results of the appraisals made by all the effective answerers. The “senseof spaciousness,” “natural materials,” and “large seats” had the highest percentages among all
the answer items.
b)Trends by sex and age bracket
Figure 3 shows the results of the appraisals made by sex and age bracket. The trend in the 10
to 19 age is obviously much different from that of all the effective answerers. The answer
item “careful” accounted for the highest percentage in the 10 to 19 age bracket, while theanswer items “sense of spaciousness” and “natural materials” were regarded highly by all the
responders. Differences were observed between men and women in the answer items “largeseats,” “appearance” and “sense of high class.” The “appearance” was more highly
appreciated by men, while the “large seats” and “high quality” by women.
The answer item “natural materials” was highly appreciated by responders in their thirties tofifties, and especially by 50% of all the responders in their forties and seventies. The item
“large seats” was more highly supported by women than men in all age brackets, probably
because of the general differences in body sizes between men and women. The item “privatecompartment” was supported by about 15% of all the responders in their twenties and thirties
and by 27% of all the responders in their seventies. The item “sense of high quality” wasselected by 23% of all the women in their fifties and about 15 % of all the women in their
twenties to sixties.
4Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.8, 2011

3.3. Considerations
Responders using the Kyushu Shinkansen railway line supported the answer items, “sense of
spaciousness,” “natural materials,” and “large seats,” which are directly related to comfort.
The other answer items were answered differently depending on age brackets and where they
were living. Therefore, it can be said that a design concept strategy targeting the users willcontribute to future development of spaces in cars.
4. SURVEY BY INTERVIEWING THE REPRESENTATIVES OF INTERIORDECORATION-RELATED COMPANIES
4.1 Outline of survey
JR Kyushu had adopted the policy of limiting the operating cost for the Shinkansen train
Tsubame to a lower value than that for conventional trains. To implement cost reduction
measures, therefore, JR Kyushu entrusted Mr. Mitooka with all the works ranging fromdesign to the selection of materials, while it retained the responsibility for checking thefunctions of the train and purchasing the great quantities of materials. Mr. Mitooka gave firstpriority to the “use of natural materials.” Although an abundance of timber was used in the
Tsubame Series 800 train, he reduced the production costs by using materials that might
normally be disposed of as waste. Mr. Mitooka decided that he wanted to use natural woods
rather than beautiful timbers and that timbers with nodes were natural. This know-how wasapplied to the leather-covered seats in the express train Series 885 before the Tsubame Series
800 train was constructed. Thus, it seems that the past experiences were used effectively.
However, it will significantly increase production costs to achieve such high-quality spaces incars while producing a relatively small number of trains. In this research, therefore, we
conducted the interview surveys not only on the technical and cost problems that interior
decoration related companies encountered when they introduced the traditional craftworks
into their products but also on the solutions that they adopted to solve these problems. In theinterview surveys, we asked the following three questions of the interviewees:- Questions 1) What problems were caused by using new materials for trains? (Technical problems)
2) You said that “the trains “Tsubame Series 800” had been produced without increasing
production cost.” However, the increase in production cost should have been inevitable if
new materials were used to meet the different standards. How did you solve this problem?
(Cost problem)3) What influences did the development and production of the train Tsubame Series 800 haveon your company and other companies? (Delivery influence)
4.2 Challenges and keys to solutions in production process
The answers provided by the 6 companies that were engaged in the production of the
Tsubame train are given in Table 3. In terms of the production process, the Tsubame Series
800 train presents unique characteristics as follows: (1) It needed to have not only the express
speed required for Shinkansen trains but also be able to accommodate tourists because the
Kyushu region is dependent on tourism; (2) the companies had to produce small lots because5Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.8, 2011

the Kyushu Shinkansen railway was only partially opened, and because the daily number ofoperations was lower for the Tsubame train than for other trains; (3) the use of natural
materials caused technical and maintenance problems; and (4) sophisticated designs wererequired. These characteristics had a great influence on the production process.
Table 2 Interior decoration-related companies and the materials and characteristics
of interior decorations
Product and manufacturer
Split curtains
Inoue Industry
BlindsKyowa kogyo
Chairs (seats)
Suminoe Textile
Chairs (design andproduction)
Suminoe Industry
Benches, handrails, tables,and picture frames
NittaxGable walls and wooden
sheets for sliding doors
Hoxan
FloorsMaterials and characteristics
Split curtains made by the rush ropes produced in Yatsushiro
Cherry tree (produced in Kagoshima) blinds like bamboo
screens
Textiles (in lapis lazuli blue, bluish green, and antiquelacquer color) woven using the Nishiin brocading techniqueeffectively and having the original patterns modeled on theantique patterns in Japan
Cherry tree timbers (produced in Hokkaido)
Cherry tree timbers (produced in Kumamoto)[Timbers for benches in Persimmon tannin color, light pink,
and laurel leaf color]Camphor tree timbers (produced in Kagoshima)
PVC (thermally deformable)
White sheets with Japanese traditional grid patterns

4.2.1 Technical challenges
Technical challenges were encountered by the introduction of new materials necessary tocomply with the train design standards. The products to be used for the interior decorationsin the Shinkansen trains are required to meet high standards such as light weight, flame
resistance and incombustibility, and durability.
1) Weight reduction
Efforts were made to reduce the weight of delivered products, and suppliers were required tomake such efforts for each item delivered. For example, Lonseal Corp. was required tosubmit its floor materials to fire resistance and anti-slip processing while under the constraintof weight reduction. Since Mr. Mitooka adopted the policy of using timbers to produce seats,
Suminoe Industry also was required to further reduce the weight of its chairs, which werealready lighter than those of conventional products. To satisfy this requirement, the company
manufactured test products balancing the product’s strength and weight. These challenges
were solved by establishing a flexible system that included the effective use of knowledge
accumulated in their research laboratories as well as the formation of special project teams.
2) Flame resistance and incombustibility
The companies used their own technologies to process their products in order to make them
flame resistant and incombustible.

6Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.8, 2011

Table 3 Challenges and keys to solutions in production process
Company
Inoue
Industry

Challenges
A. Technical challenge
Thinner ropes than the ordinary ones had to be
developed.

Kyowa
Kogyo

A. Technical challenge
Wooden blinds for train cars had to be
manufactured.
B. Cost problems
The wooden blinds had a minor massproduction effect.

Suminoe
TextileA. Technical challenges
The wear resistance of textiles had to be
improved.
(The wear resistance of moquette is low.)
The balance between the quantity, weight andstrength of threads had to be adjusted.
B. Cost problem
A small lot of seats was produced so that theinitial production cost was relatively a little
higher.
A. Technical challenges
The weights of our products had to be
decreased.(The weights of our products weredecreased by using wooden material, but afurther decrease in weight was required by thecustomer.)

SuminoeIndustry

Hoxan

LonsealCorp.

Keys to Solutions- Our techniques were repeatedly improved.
- We had many skillful artisans.
- We had an incentive for spreading rush-made products.
- We expected to receive subsequent orders.
- Our experiences in introducing our wooden blinds intotrain cars were effectively used in the event train operatedby JR Kyushu.
- Our building division’s knowledge was effectively used.
- The manual work permitted us to flexibly respond to thedemand.
- A lumbering company gave us its cooperation.
- Our employees were conscious as artisans.
- We were proud of our products delivered to Shinkansen
Trains.
- The knowledge accumulated in related and other divisions
was effectively used.
- Because we had developed many products we could
develop techniques for the products in use for the Tsubame
train and make an effort in reducing the development cost.

- The parts that did not affect the strength of our products
were removed through experiments.
- Small quantities of many items could be produced for ashot period because of our flexible production lines.
- Two designers were used, though one designer wasusually in charge.
- Our company established a back-up system.
- Our experience in developing new type chairs (for the
Kamome Series 885 train) was effectively used.
- Our employees adopted their good ideas by a consensus.
- We had a stable technical base (automobile division).
- We expected to receive further orders.
B. Cost problem- We could supply good products because JR Kyushu
insisted on the use of natural materials without concern for
Our products have a small effect on mass
their nodes.
production.
- Our experiences in developing a wide range of new
wooden products was used effectively.
- We could make a small effort in reducing the production
cost for our products in use for the Tsubame train because
we had developed many products.
A. Technical challenges- We have established a flexible system to process the order
for any quantity of products.
The characteristics of material (It was difficult- Our research laboratory could be effectively used toto print geometric patterns on PVC sheets
develop new products.
having a thermal deformability.)
Design (A little deformation or a few stains may - We were aware that these technical challenges might
contribute to improving our technologies.
be very noticeable on a white floor of 20m in- We were aware that these technical challenges might
length with grid patterns.)
contribute to improving the publicity effect of our
Weight reduction (The values such as
products.
incombustibility, anti-stain and anti-slip had to- We have accumulated experiences for many years.
be added to thin PVC sheets.)- We formed a special team for the Tusbame train.
B. Cost problems
Our products did not have any mass production
effect so that the initial production cost wasincreased.
The production cost was increased by producing
a small quantity of products.
The producing speed was lowered.
Our products involved the copy right of adesigner.

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Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.8, 20113) Durability
Durability was important because the Tsubame train targeted tourists rather than businesspassengers. The interior decorations of Shinkansen trains are generally replaced after 7 to 8
years of operation. If textiles are used in interior decorations of the business trains requiring
durability, these textiles may have an unreasonable influence on the service lives of theinterior decorations. Moquette is generally used for the seats in railway cars. However,Suminoe Textile used textiles which are inferior to moquette in several properties such as
durability, strength, and service life. Therefore, the challenge to the company was to develop
the technology for improving the strength and wear resistance of textiles such as silk used forcurtains. Suminoe Textile has operated a polytechnic center for research in textile
technologies, and the center’s knowledge was effectively used to produce the seats for the
Shinkansen trains.
4) Sophisticated design
Lonseal Corp. that produced the floor sheets for the Shinkansen trains was required to adopt
the Japanese traditional design of grid and dot patterns on a white sheet. However, it wasvery difficult for the company to paint the PVC floor material sheets white and draw thegeometric grid patterns on them, because of the requirement that no stain was allowed to stickon them. A PVC sheet roll of 20 m and 140 kg may expand and shrink due to its weight andthermally deformability. Therefore, the products were repeatedly checked with decreasing
production speed. Some people noted that there was a difference in the production span
between Lonseal and the train manufacturer so that the floor sheet production process did nothave any effect on mass production. Based on its experiences accumulated over many years,
however, Lonseal’s products contributed to improving their public image via their own
technologies.
4.2.2 Cost problems
The companies encountered problems of increasing costs because of the new high quality
products being developed and the small number of trains being produced. The rate of losses
was slightly increased by producing a small quantity of products. However, the companies
made efforts in reducing the production costs for their products, expecting that the productdelivery effect might offset the higher producing cost. The cost reduction techniques adopted
can be roughly divided into two categories: (1) Flexible production lines could respond toorders of small quantities of many items (Inoue Industry, Kyowa Kogyo, Suminoe Industry,and Lonseal Corp.) and (2) A small effort could be made in reducing production costs for the
products used in the Tsubame train, because many new products are developed annually andbecause departments other than the affected ones were stable in the companies (Suminoe
Textile and Hoxan).
4.2.3 MaintenanceAs regards the maintenance challenge, it was supposed that the production cost might beincreased by defects in the natural materials. However, the interviewees answered that “theproducts of high quality designs were carefully used” (JR Kyushu), and that “spare parts were
stocked for maintenance, but little delivered” (Kyowa kogyo). This means that the higher
quality of the interior decorations in the trains limited the rise of maintenance costs.
The representative of JR Kyushu reported that although it was very difficult to clean the whitebody of the “Tsubame,” train, the train manufacturer had improved on this problem throughthe production of high quality trains and come to consider that “it was natural to maintain the8Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.8, 2011

clean environment.”
4.2.4 Cooperative system
In the hearing, many participants gave the same comment that “they have established acooperative system to produce their products for the Tsubame Series 800” train. They were
not only profoundly impressed with and supported JR Kyushu’s and Mr. Mitooka’s intentionsof “providing artisan’s skill,” “using natural materials,” and “producing the unique
Shinkansen trains reflecting the local features of Kyushu 4)” but also they expected, withpride, that they would “produce the best Shinkansen trains.” It can be said that the productionof the high quality trains improved the employees’ consciousness as “artisans” in thecompanies.
4.3 Delivery effects
The challenges provided by the companies were beneficial to them through delivery of aquality product. As shown in Table 4, the interviewers’ answers such as “the delivery of theirproducts to the Shinkansen trains was seen by many people as producing a great publicity
effect,” and “the number of customers was increased by this publicity effect” revealed that thedelivery of their products had a great appeal to outsiders. In addition, their answer “theirtechnological levels were improved” suggested that they positively appreciated the efforts
made in developing new technologies and reducing their production costs.
4.4 Reactions made by local industries
After the Kyushu Shinkansen railway line was opened, various industries showed theirreactions. Suminoe Textile reported that “it had given a lecture on the development of its
textiles (and its physical standards) to meet the request made from the Hakata textile
manufacturers in Kyushu region” and that the manufacturers had had the intention of
introducing their products into the trains running in their local areas. Hoxan also reported
that such requests had been made not only from the parties related to the Tsubame Series 800
train but also from other public facilities including the prefecture governments.
5. CONCLUSION
This research focused on the design strategy for the interior space in Shinkansen Tsubame
Series 800 and described the challenges and solutions which were clarified by making theaudio survey on the companies engaged in producing the products for use in the train.
With regard to the construction of the Tsubame Series 800 trains, the supplying companies
were presented with many challenges. The following two solutions made a great contribution
to solving these challenges:
1) The “building up experiences” were effectively used, including the continuous
improvements made in technologies, the effective use of the knowledge accumulated in thedepartments directly involved and other departments in the companies, and the presence of
their research laboratories.
2) A flexible production system was established, including accumulated experiences andknowledge mutually shared by the departments directly involved and other departments inthe companies and the manual assembly processes added to the automatic production lines.
9Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.8, 2011

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Utterback J. M. (2006) Design-inspired Innovation, World Scientific Publishing co. ltd.
Lee J.H., Jin B.S., Ji Y. (2009), Development of a Structural Equation Model for ride comfortof the Korean high-speed railway, International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics,
Vol. 39-1 , pp. 7-14.

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