For example, if you are heading north on a regular train
If there is only one possible route, the story is simple, but there may be situations where multiple routes are possible, or where it is possible to extend the itinerary to multiple possible destinations for comparison. Therefore, since it is the season for 18-kippu tickets, let’s assume “an itinerary from Ueno to the Tohoku region by connecting only by local trains.
As of the time of this writing in early December 2022, if you leave Ueno Station first thing in the morning, you can get to Aomori on the same day. As a matter of fact, it would take a total of about 18 hours, and if there were any delays along the way, the whole thing could collapse. So, such an epic (?) itinerary is not for the uninitiated. Therefore, we do not recommend such a grand (?) itinerary to those who are not familiar with it or who are not prepared for it. However, we will take it as a sample for this trip.
The most obvious route is to continue north on the Tohoku Main Line. However, the line between Morioka and Aomori has been transferred to the third-sector “IGR Iwate Galaxy Railway” and “Aoimori Railway. Of course, both lines can be used by paying an additional fare, so this is an option.
There is also a route from Sendai to Hazen Chitose on the Ou Main Line via the Senzan Line, and from there northward on the Ou Main Line to Akita-Aomori. In addition, there is a route that goes north on the Tohoku Main Line to Morioka, and then from Yoshima to Odate on the Hanawa Line (although the line is currently closed due to the disaster). In this case, the IGR Iwate Galaxy Railway is used between Morioka and Yoshima.
In fact, there is a further route that goes to Akita via the Takasaki Line – Joetsu Line – Shinetsu Main Line – Hetsu Main Line and then enters the Ou Main Line. There is also a route that uses the Joban Line instead of the Tohoku Main Line to get to Sendai.
Which of these various options to choose? The familiar “Microsoft Excel” is the answer. Since only basic functions are used, the version can be almost any version. In fact, this is a method that I have been using regularly for more than ten years for schedule planning.
What is to be done is to enter each possible alternative route as a “part” in various places on the worksheet, keeping in mind the “extend backward and forward from the bottleneck section” described in the previous article. There is no need to list a series of itineraries at once; it is sufficient to enter them separately by route and by region, and this makes them easier to understand. It is easier to understand the work sheet by entering the work sheets separately by route and by region, and then connecting them with the work sheets later (see below).
The required information is station name, departure time, arrival time. And if necessary, the train number. Most regular trains do not have nicknames, so if you want identifying information, include the train number. You can find this information in paper timetables.
One of the advantages of Excel is the calculation between dates and times. Using this function, you can enter a formula to subtract the arrival time of the first train from the departure time of the second train at the station where the connection is to be made, and the waiting time for the connection can be calculated. This is quite convenient.
When connecting separate input lines or branching and merging lines, the related lines are connected with “straight lines with arrows” in the drawing tool. This requires the drawing function, which was not available in the first version. If you have more than one line plan, you may want to change the color of the lines to distinguish them.
© Source travel watch