The prefectural third-party committee, which has been studying the extension destination of the Tsukuba Express in Ibaraki Prefecture, compiled a proposal on the 31st to extend the Tsuchiura area.
As a concept for around 2050, Ibaraki Prefecture has listed four extension destinations
for the Tsukuba Express: Mt. Tsukuba, Mito, Ibaraki Airport,
and Tsuchiura
, and a third-party committee
of experts has repeatedly discussed narrowing down the extension to one.
Then, on the 4st, the third-party committee held its last meeting at the prefectural office and compiled a proposal for the extension to the Tsuchiura area.
Regarding the reason for choosing the Tsuchiura area, the proposal states, "We judged it to be the best after considering the balance between economic and other effects and costs."
In addition, regarding the connection with the JR Joban Line, Tsuchiura Station and Kandatsu Station are compared, and "the advantage of connecting to Tsuchiura Station is recognized in terms of profitability and profitability."
After the meeting, Professor Naohisa Okamoto of the University of Tsukuba, who chairs the third-party committee, handed the proposal to Governor Oigawa.
Ibaraki Prefecture will conduct public comments based on the recommendations and decide on the extension destination by the end of June.
Governor Oigawa said, "The extension has various merits such as economic development and improvement of social convenience, and I would like to approach the extension from a broad perspective."
Professor Okamoto said, "The results of the cost-effectiveness analysis were the most decisive factor, but they did not meet the standards and need to be discussed."