On July 10, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced an additional five possible locations to be considered for new train lines. The five potential routes have been added to a total of 14 routes that the Tokyo believes should be ‘under consideration’ and will be submitted to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism at the end of July.
One of the new routes under possible consideration is a subway line that could link the Ariake district in Tokyo Bay with the Ginza district. Although it would be impossible to have a new line built in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics, during which several sporting events will be held in the bayside area, the area has been seeing an increase in the local population which could eventually warrant the need for rail access. A bus rapid transport (BRT) system is planned for the area with services tentatively scheduled to start in 2019, however a bus system may not be sufficient for passenger capacity requirements and could leave new residents with a congested and inconvenient transport system.