A trip abroad to Japan highlighted the international impact of UK transport innovation.
Swindon South MP Heidi Alexander shared insights from her recent visit to Tokyo and Osaka, Japan.
The Transport Secretary said: “Japan is a fantastic country, which builds integrated transport infrastructure at scale and runs some of the most efficient railways the world has ever seen.
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“I was pleased to fly the flag for our innovative rail ticketing trials and world-leading aviation industry.”
During her visit, the MP met her Japanese counterpart, Yasushi Kaneko.
She also visited Hitachi’s global headquarters in Tokyo—home to the manufacturer of many trains operating in the UK—and toured the Tokyo Metro training centre, where she tried out a rail simulator.
Ms Alexander rode on an autonomous bus with Tier IV and visited passenger technology company Transreport.
Transreport, backed by the Department for Transport (DfT), have been pioneering passenger assist technology in Britain and across the world.
Ms Alexander said: “I visited Hitachi’s global headquarters in Tokyo.
“Hitachi make many of the trains we ride on everyday and their Newton Aycliffe factory is at the heart of rail engineering in Britain.”
Her journey through Japan included a ride on the high-speed Shinkansen to Osaka, where she witnessed the train cleaning team’s famed about seven-minute turnaround.
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She also met with Hirofumi Yoshimura to trade learnings about delivering big infrastructure projects, and she may have even promised him a Swindon Town football shirt if he comes to the UK.
Ms Alexander thanked the British Embassy Tokyo team, saying: “A huge thank you to the fantastic team British Embassy Tokyo, who organised a fantastic trip.
“They are putting Britain’s best foot forward with our Japanese partners.”
The politician completed the Asia tour with a stop in Beijing earlier in the week.
AloJapan.com