01-26-2016, 01:41 PM
(01-25-2016, 11:45 PM)Canard Wrote: Japan has almost exclusively elevated urban systems (aside from underground metro), like Monorail and AGT. There's a very good reason why there are no Light Rail systems in Japan (although they have a few novelty tram lines that the Japanese think are kawaii.)
Well ... a lot of the elevated rail is conventional, what we could call heavy rail. Most of JR East in the Tokyo area is commuter rail, but (mostly) elevated tracks and high capacity, and JR East carries the most passengers of any of the rail companies in Tokyo. With 100+ rail lines in the Tokyo area, it's hard to make sweeping statements, though.
But the key reason for the lack of LRT in Japan (and especially in Tokyo), is that it simply doesn't have enough capacity. But maybe that's what you meant?