A transportation system for the Makuhari new city center

In the new city center of Makuhari, the construction of an international business district for the 21st century is under way. The promotion of industrial development and the resultant enlivening of the area has naturally brought with it increasing demands on transportation. In particular, the use of transportation from the JR Sobu Line and Keisei Chiba Line into Metropolitan Makuhari has increased considerably. Ar present, bus services from JR and Keisei Makuharihongo Station are available but these services are reaching capacity. In order to address the situation outlined above, we thus began an investigation into the most suitable means of transportation for the Makuhari new city center. The following study compares the "suspended-monorail", AGT (Automated Guideway Transit), and the "guideway bus", all of which are now being planned for or introduced into localities nationwide.