Breakthrough in Japanese Railways 11

Advances in Geological Surveying for
Railways in Japan
Shigeru Onoda

Start of Geological Surveying in Japanunusual rocks and minerals from across Japan was also

The opportunity provided by modern Western geologicalwas established by Naumann and Tokyo University

studies to Japan came in the form of surveying for mineral

Associate Professor Tsunashiro Wada. That agency

resources in the late 19th century from the end of the Edo

developed into the ministry’s Department of Geology.

initiated. In 1878, an imperial geological surveying agency

period (1603–1867) to the early Meiji period (1868–1912).

Although the Depar tment of Geology had been

American geologists William Blake and Raphael Pumpelly

established, actual geological surveys did not progress atwere recruited together with Japanese counterparts by the

any speed, so Naumann wrote to Home Affairs Minister (later

shogunate in 1861 to survey the mineral and coal resources

Prime Minister) Hirobumi Ito, stating that geological surveys

of southern Hokkaido.

would be beneficial to areas such as agriculture, mining,

The Satsuma clan on Kyushu island recruited French

metallurgy, civil engineering, and construction. In the letter,mining engineer Jean Francisque Coignet in 1867 to survey

he stressed the necessity to organize a geological surveying

the region’s mineral resources. With the Meiji Restoration

agency and to create geological maps.

in 1868, Coignet moved to the Ikuno silver mine in Hyogo

The Department of Geology came under the Ministry

Prefecture, providing instruction in mining techniques, andof Agriculture and Commerce and was renamed theengaging in surveys of mines across Japan.

Geological Survey of Japan in 1882. Full-scale surveys

The Hokkaido Development Commissioner hiredin geology, soils, terrain and the like started along with

American Benjamin Smith Lyman in 1869 to instruct students

work in quality control and analysis of industrial products.

at Kaitakushi Tentative School (what would later become

Efforts were put into research in pedology (soil science)

Sapporo Agricultural College and then Hokkaido University).

thanks to measures for promotion of agriculture, and the

He also surveyed coal and other resources in the Ishikari

concept of agricultural geology was born. However, work

and Sorachi areas. Lyman completed Japan’s first broadin that area was transferred subsequently to agriculturalgeological map, called the ‘Geological Sketch Map of theresearch stations.
The Geological Survey of Japan also conducted

Island of Yesso, Japan’ in May 1876.
German Heinrich Edmund Naumann came to Japangeological surveys when commissioned by outside bodies,in 1875 where he started lectures in geology in the Faculty

conducting several civil engineering surveys. For example,of Science at Tokyo University. Naumann was instrumental

geological opinions about building a railway line throughin forming the foundations for geological studies in Japanthe Jizo Pass of the Nakasendo presented in 1885, noted

through efforts such as establishing a geological surveying

the importance of geological surveys in selecting railway

organization and implementing systematic geological surveys

routes. The report stressed that geological surveys could cut

through that organization. These efforts helped establish

construction and repair costs, leading to greater profitability.

geological studies as an academic discipline in Japan.

Nobi Earthquake and seismology

Naumann also greatly influenced later geological studies inJapan through works such as his 1885 thesis that presented
the geological history of the Japanese archipelago in a

The magnitude (Mj) 5.8 Yokohama Earthquake of 1880

systematic manner, taking into account the framework of

did not cause major damage, but caused great shock

Japan’s geological structure.

among residents of the foreign settlement in Yokohama.
British Professor John Milne at the Imperial College ofStart of Geological Survey of Japan

Engineering (a forerunner of the Tokyo University’s Faculty

A section in charge of lumber and ore was established inas the world’s first academic group dedicated to the study

Japan’s Ministry of Home Affairs in 1874, and collection ofof earthquakes and started full-scale research into them.

Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 61 • Mar 2013of Engineering) founded the Seismological Society of Japan30

Breakthrough in Japanese Railways 11

Figure 1 Geological Sketch of Yezo Island, Japan (1876)



(Geological Survey of Japan)

Figure 2 Geological Measurements near Jizo Pass (1885)



31(“Kogaku-kaisi” (Engineering magazine), No.40 (1885))

Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 61 • Mar 2013

Milne along with Tokyo University Professor
James Alfred Ewing came up with various ideas
for seismometers, and compiled a history of
past earthquakes.
The magnitude (Mj) 8.4 Nobi Earthquakein October 1891 with its epicentre in Gifu
Prefecture killed about 7000 people in areas
including neighbouring Aichi, Fukui, Ishikawa,
Mie, and Shiga prefectures. This earthquake
exposed the Neodani Fault at the surface, andthe relationship between faults and earthquakes
was soon a focus of study. Due to the severe
damage caused by the Nobi Earthquake, theMilne Seismometer (National Important Cultural Property) (1894)
(National Museum of Nature and Science)

government established the Imperial Earthquake
Investigation Committee in 1892 to researchearthquake disaster prevention and earthquake
prediction in an organized manner. Researchers in areas

bore surveys to identify the ground structure under thesuch as geology, civil engineering, and architecture came

capital region. The survey results were released in 1929 as atogether to start the research.

report on geological surveys of Tokyo and Yokohama, which
was subsequently used in civil engineering and architectural

When the Sanriku Earthquake and tsunami of June

construction, disaster prevention planning, etc.

1896 struck, it left about 20,000 dead from a 38-m hightsunami that wreaked havoc on the Sanriku coast. Theories

Aerial photography, which had advanced along withon the cause of the tsunami were discussed, including

aircraft development, was put to use in tasks such as

volcanic eruption, faults, and undersea landslide, but

identifying disaster areas in the Great Kanto Earthquake,terrain and sea depth were discovered from later research

but this kind of technology was still used mostly for military

to be dominant factors.

purposes. The Ministry of Railways first tried using aerial
photography to survey lines in 1932 with the cooperation

Start of hazard geologyof the army. In 1937, it used six aircraft with photographic

In Japan, where weather-related disasters such as typhoons

aerial photography. Approximately 5000 km of rail lines had

occur regularly along with earthquakes, the relationshipbeen surveyed using aerial photography by the end of WWII,

between weather and geological phenomena was the early

but aerial photography was suspended in 1943 due to thefocus of study. Surveys on these phenomena were promoted

war. All documents were destroyed at the end of the war,by the Imperial Earthquake Investigation Committee

so none passed down to history, but this did provide an

and others.

opportunity for aerial photography to be used in surveys forequipment and pilots to start independent line surveys using

civil engineering construction works.

In 1901, Tokyo Imperial University Professor Kotora
Jinbo, who had surveyed denuded land in Yamanashi,

Tanna Tunnel and geological surveying

Ishikawa, and Shizuoka prefectures under contract to theImperial Earthquake Investigation Committee, published areport in The Journal of the Geological Society of Japan,

Construction of the Tanna Tunnel on the Tokaido main line

advocating the necessity for geological surveys. Jinbo

started in 1918 and was one of the world’s most difficult

further stressed that geologists would need to cooperate

projects in the history of tunnel construction. With works

more closely with civil engineers, stating that knowledge inoften disrupted by cave-ins and floodings due to distensible

areas such as ground collapse and weathering of rock isgeology and large volumes of groundwater, the tunnel was

imperative for civil engineers, and that geologists should

not completed until 1934.
Tokyo Imperial University was commissioned to perform

bear this in mind.
The magnitude (Mj) 7.9 Great Kanto Earthquake thata survey for construction of the Tanna Tunnel, and predictedstruck the southern Kanto region on 1 September 1923 waslarge volumes of spring water. However, construction

the worst natural disaster Japan ever faced, with close towent forward without gaining a clear conclusion from

100,000 people dead and 44,000 missing. The government

the geological factors. The tunnel was in danger of non-immediately established the Imperial Capital Reconstruction

completion and was criticized by overseas tunnel engineers

Agency and started reconstruction, including about 800

as a reckless endeavour. As a result, the Ministry ofJapan Railway & Transport Review No. 61 • Mar 201332

Breakthrough in Japanese Railways 11

Railway Damage due to Nobi Earthquake (Nagaragawa Bridge) (1891) 

Railway Damage due to Great Kanto Earthquake (1923) (Dr. Hiki’s collection of Kyoto University)( Author’s Collection)

33

Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 61 • Mar 2013

Figure 3 Tanna Basin Fault and Groundwater Survey Chart (1934)

(“Construction record of Tanna Tunnel” (JGR/1936))

Railways hired geological experts in 1923 to its conduct own

in 1919. Such geological surveys by boring were alreadygeological surveys.

common in mining, but at last came into popular use in civil

When surveying for a railway across the Kanmon

engineering with geological surveys for the Tanna Tunnel

Straits, bridge and tunnel proposals were compared, withand the Tokyo Subway (part of the Tokyo Metro Ginza Linegeological surveys involving boring being conductedtoday), which started operation in 1927.

Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 61 • Mar 201334

Breakthrough in Japanese Railways 11

Figure 4 Tanna Tunnel Boring Geological Survey (1934)

(Construction record of Tanna Tunnel” (JGR/1936))

Figure 5 Kanmon Undersea Tunnel Geological Map (1939)



35(“Construction record of Kanmon Tunnel” (JNR/1949))

Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 61 • Mar 2013

by the 1920s, but the first attempts to use these technologies
for railways were electrical prospecting in surveying thefoundations for the Chuo main line Tamagawa River Bridgein 1930 and elastic prospecting for the Tanna Tunnel in thesame year.
Such results were applied later to construction of the
Kanmon Undersea Tunnel, but the Ministry of Railways’
engineers were sent overseas or transferred to tasks
such as construction of underground bunkers and otherdefensive facilities as the war intensified. This situation
continued until the end of the war.

Preliminary geophysical prospecting Test by Ministry of Railways’
Geotechnical Committee (1933) (RTRI’s Collection)

Postwar Reconstruction and Geological
SurveyingFormation of Ministry of Railways
Geotechnical Committee

Start of Railway Technical Research Institute’s GeologicalResearch Laboratory

The Ministry of Railways recognized the importance ofhalted for a time due to WWII but the need for geologicalgeological surveys in reflections on the difficulties withsurveying grew rapidly with the postwar recovery. Railways

the Tanna Tunnel construction, setting up its Geotechnicaland roads, and water resource facilities such as dams andCommittee in 1930. At the time, new concepts in newlarge irrigation canals were being built at a rapid pace.

Advancement in geological surveying for railways was

soil mechanics were being established in Europe by the

Demand increased for construction of railways alonglikes of Karl von Terzaghi, Wolmar Fellenius, and Albertwith postwar reconstruction, so Japanese National Railways

Atterberg. Swedish State Railways, in particular, organized(JNR) launched the Geological Research Laboratory at its

its Geotechnical Commission and achieved great results in

Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI) in April 1955.

areas such as disaster geology.

The geological consulting industry had not sufficiently

Such knowledge from abroad was introduced todeveloped at the time, so the Laborator y primarily

Japan through various means such as activities of the

conducted its own surveys. The first job was a geological

Ministry’s Geotechnical Committee, greatly influencing thesurvey for the Hokuriku Tunnel then in planning. It conducted

country. The Committee, along with outside people suchbore surveys, electrical prospecting, elastic prospecting,as researchers from Tokyo Imperial University, started

and hydrogeological surveys, establishing the foundations

studies to apply geological knowledge to engineering. The

for later tunnel geological surveys.

purpose of the Committee was stated as being to ‘survey
and research the characteristics of soil in a scientific andRailway disasters and geological surveying

engineering-based manner for conducting construction,

JNR set up a landslide experimental station at Nou on themaintenance, improvement and other work for national

Hokuriku main line in 1948 and started activities such as

railways lines, and to execute construction appropriate

general monitoring using measuring devices and modelfor the condition of the particular location, and contributeexperiments. A committee on countermeasures against

to construction cost reduction and safety for lines.’ Thedisasters on the Dosan Line was later established by JNR

Committee established study groups on design and building

in response to the 1962 slope disaster on the line between

methods for structures, etc., based on geological surveys,

Tosa-Iwahara and Toyonaga, with experts from inside andand it tirelessly conducted activities such as bibliographic

outside the company coming together to perform analyses.

surveys, holding of study groups, testing commissioned by

The committee identified levels of disaster risk from theoutside entities, and consulting, until 1938.

cause and effect relationship between geological structure

The Committee put much effort into practical use

and slope disasters. It also accomplished results such asof elastic prospecting, electrical prospecting and otherextraction of broken terrain by deciphering aerial photos.

geophysical prospecting methods and into development ofAerial photographs were put to full-scale use for slope

testing methods to identify the physical properties of soils

disasters from 1970 with creation of a grading chart toand rock, thereby establishing the foundations of today’s

evaluate degree of soundness. Multispectral photographs

engineering geology. Geophysical prospecting technologies,

were used from 1972 in an attempt to more accurately

such as elastic prospecting, had already been used in mining

extract the terrain of slope disasters. These results wereJapan Railway & Transport Review No. 61 • Mar 201336

Breakthrough in Japanese Railways 11

published in 1978 as a study group

Figure 6 Geological Survey Chart on Dosan Line (1964)

report on methods of deciphering
aerial photographs, and manuals werecreated for methods of deciphering
disaster terrain and interpreting theresults of deciphering.

Railway construction and geologicalsurveying
Seabed geological surveying was
conducted in 19 6 0 using deep submersibles for the Seikan Tunnel,
which had been under survey fromthe 1950s. Other methods included
bore surveys, elastic prospecting,electrical prospecting, and physicaland chemical tests. Thanks to these,
the seabed geology of the Tsugaru
Strait was almost completely known
by about 1962.
Railway construction andimprovement works expanded in the
1960s with Japan’s rapidly growing
economy, and geological sur vey
work also eventually broadenedwith shinkansen construction
projects. Standard specifications
for geological surveying were thus
established by JNR in 1969, and aframework for conducting geologicalsurveys was put in place ahead ofcivil engineering construction.
For railway tunnel construction inparticular, the New Austrian Tunnelling(JNR Report (1964))

Method (NATM) was introduced in
the late 1970s as a replacement forthe conventional sheet piling method.
NATM rapidly became commonplace
as a flexible construction method thatis well-matched to Japan’s complex
and varied geological conditions.
Moreover, quantitative assessment ofground based on rock engineering
became possible due to factors suchas identification of ground deformation
behaviour, use of mine workface
observation records, and applicationof numerical analysis technologies,
such as FEM. NATM gained prominent
status in the railways field as thestandard method of tunnelling inmountains with the 1983 establishment

Seikan Undersea Tunnel Construction (1983) 

37(Japan Railway Construction Corporation)

Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 61 • Mar 2013

Table 1 Classification of Rock Quality for Railway Tunnel Construction (1970)
Classification of quality of rocks
Quality of rocks

Rocks

A

Paleozoic
rocks (clayslate, sandstone, conglomerate, chert, greywache, schalstein, limestone, etc.)
Mesozoic(b) Plutonic rocks (granite, granodiorite, diorite, gabbro, peridotite, etc.)(c) Hypabyssal rocks (Granite porphyry, quartz porphyry, porphyrite, diabase)(d) Volcanic rocks (some part) (basalt, andesite and rhyolite of mesozoic era, etc.)(e) Metamorphic rocks (gneiss, hornfels, schist, phyllite, quartzite, etc.)

B(a) Metamorphic rocks having conspicuous schistosity(b) Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks having fine bedding planeC(a) Mesozoic rocks (some part) (shale, sandstone, tuff breccia, etc.)(b) Volcanic rocks (greater part) (rhyolite, andesite, etc.)(c) Palaeogene rocks (some part) (silicified shale and sandstone, volcanic tuff)

D

Neogenerocks (mudstone, schale, sandstone, conglomerate, tuff, lapilli tuff, tuff breccia, welded tuff, etc.)
Palaeogene

E

Pleistocene
rocks (mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, sand and gravel rock, tuff, talus, volcanic ejecta, etc.)
NeogeneF

Alluvium
Diluvium(a)rocks (clay, silt, sand, sand and gravel, loam, fan, talus, terrace, volcanic ejecta, etc.)

Classification of rocks conditions for tunnelling
Quality of rocks (km/sec)

Classificationrock condition

A

1

B

C

D

> 5.0

> 4.8

> 4.2

2

5.0~4.4

4.8~4.2

4.2~3.63

4.6~4.0

4.8~4.2

4.4~3.8

3.8~3.2> 2.6

4

4.2~3.6

4.4~3.8

4.0~3.4

3.4~2.8

2.6~2.05

3.8~3.2

4.0~3.4

3.6~3.0

3.0~2.4

2.2~1.6

1.8~1.2

6

< 3.4

< 3.6

< 3.2

< 2.6

< 1.8

1.4~0.8

< 1.4

< 1.0

7

E

F
Good
MediumBad

Remarks
1) Reduce to a lower class, when groundwater inflows always into tunnel.
2) The rocks having expansibility have no relation to this classification.
3) Raise 1~2 ranks of classification, when the Poisson’s ratio of the weathered rock is smaller than 0.3.
Notes1) Numbers 1~7 are the ranks of the magnitude of intensity.
2) The numbers show the velocity of elastic wave in the rock.
3) A~F of quality of rocks are indicated by top table.
4) Numbers in the table show velocity of elastic wave propagation km/s.

of the NATM design construction guidelines by JNR.

(JNR Report 1970)

needed with the spread of geological surveying methods. A

Interest in deep underground spaces increased fromclassification of rock conditions for tunneling was created in

1987 with the skyrocketing cost of land in urban areas,

1966 based on previous tunnel surveys and accumulation ofpromoting technical development for deep undergroundknowledge from construction, with rock mass strength broken

railway tunnels.

down into seven levels, based on rock type and elastic wave

Rock mass classification for railways had started around

velocity (Table 1).

1942 with the creation of simple rock classification charts

This classification is the basis of the later rock mass

for slopes, but more quantitative assessment methods wereclassification, and with the establishment of the 1983

Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 61 • Mar 201338

Breakthrough in Japanese Railways 11

Railway Damage due to Great East Japan Earthquake (2011) (JR East)

NATM design construction guidelines, a six-level rock massin advance could help reduce damage from typhoons,

strength classification was made based on rock type andearthquakes, and other disasters.

elastic wave velocity and ground strength comparisons.

Recent efforts are being made to build railways that areStandard support patterns according to individual rockresistant to natural disasters in light of lessons learned frommass classifications were presented, and tunnel design andthe 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake and the 2011 Great East

construction was conducted in a more streamlined manner

Japan Earthquake.

thanks to these guidelines.

Conclusion
There was little interest in geological surveying during
early railway construction in Japan, and almost no detailed
surveys based on scientific knowledge were performed.
However, the importance of geological surveying, waseventually recognized through construction of railway
tunnels, bridges, etc. This led to the establishment of the
Ministry of Railways’ Geotechnical Committee and attempts

Shigeru Onoda

ahead of other fields to reflect the results of geologicalsurveys in civil engineering.

Dr. Shigeru Onoda is an associate director in the information
management division at Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI).
He joined Japanese National Railways (JNR) in 1979 after graduating
Nihon University. In 1987 joined RTRI as a researcher of GeotechnicalEngineering and Disaster Prevention Laboratory. He took charge ofdevelopment of reinforcement and repair methods of railway tunnels.
He earned his doctorate at Tokyo University in 1998. And he is a
specialist in the history of a railway civil engineering heritage now.

With the expansion of railway construction after WWII, it
was recognized that careful preparatory geological surveys
would lead to smoother construction, allowing for morestreamlined and economical civil engineering. It was also
recognized that identifying terrain and geological conditions

39

Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 61 • Mar 2013