JR East aims for driverless Shinkansen operation

Abstract

East Japan Railway Company (JR East) is aiming to “realize driverless train operation” as one of the key measures to respond to rapid changes in the business environment. Currently, Automatic Train Operation (ATO) equipment is not installed on the Shinkansen, but there are plans to introduce ATO or driverless operation in the near future. From 2018–2021, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) held the “ATO Technology Study Group for Railways” in which the concept of technical requirements necessary for driverless operation was discussed. In 2021, JR East conducted the GOA4 demonstration test on the Joetsu Shinkansen. In this test, we were able to confirm the basic functions of Shinkansen vehicles such as automatic departure control, speed control, fixed position stop control, and remote stop control using ATO. We aim to realize unattended operation (GOA4) for deadhead trains between Niigata Station and the Niigata Shinkansen Rolling Stock Center by the end of the 2020 s, and driverless operation (GOA3) for passenger trains of the Joetsu Shinkansen by the mid-2030s and continue to develop the necessary technologies and build systems.

Keywords

• High-speed railway
• Shinkansen
• ATO
• Automatic train operation
• GOA3
• Driverless operation