Breakthrough in Japanese Railways 12

Automation of Ticket Issuing and Checking
in Japan
Shigeo Miki

Introduction

machines for issuing platform tickets at Tokyo Station andStation operations are typical works among the labour

manually by the customer who inserted coins and pressed

intensive business of the railway as a whole. The corea lever to get the ticket. Later developments progressed tooperation of issuing and checking tickets involves atrial use in 1929 of a domestic, manually operated machine

lot of direct contact with customers, so it has long been

for issuing platform and short-distance tickets at Tokyoa target for automation. This article mostly describes

Station. It handled platform tickets as well as two tickets

progress in ticket systems from the 1960s, when advances

for the flat fare (5 sen or ¥0.05) and the next fare section.

in automation started, with a focus mainly on the former

Domestic ticket vending machines were used later at major

Japanese National Railways (JNR) and today’s Japanstations on the Yamanote Line, but their use was suspended

Railways (JR) group of operators.

during WWII. Automatic ticket gates were introduced in

two at Ueno Station. These early machines were operated

1927 at the opening of Tokyo Underground Railway (today’s

Early Automation of Ticketing and Checking

Tokyo Metro Ginza Line) when a 10-sen coin was inserted

The history of ticket vending machines as labour-reduction

not consider automation due to the variety of tickets andmeasures starts in 1926 with the introduction of four German

because it did not have flat fares.

for the flat fare (see photo on P.55). At that time, JNR did

Early Ticket Vending Machines before WWII

Platform ticket vending machine
in 1927  (The Railway Museum)Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 63 • Mar 2014

Ticket vending machine in 1929
(The Railway Museum)

German ticket vending machine introduced
in 1926 (The Railway Museum)54

Breakthrough in Japanese Railways 12

The postwar industrial recovery led to modernization ofinternational symposium held by the International Union of

the railway industry too. The first postwar machines were 50

Railways (UIC). Taking this opportunity, JNR and related

manual ticket vending machines introduced in 1952 at major

companies established the Congress of Japan Railway

stations in Tokyo’s 23 wards. They sold platform tickets

Cybernetics (CJRC) on 22 April 1963 as a subsidiary ofand third-class ¥10 short-distance train tickets. Standalone

the Japan Railway Engineers Association (JREA) to be thesingle-function machines for platform tickets and short-Japanese counterpart to the symposium. CJRC requested

distance tickets were introduced and improved successively

articles from the Japanese railway industry and institutions

with electric-powered ticket vending machines enteringand conducted doubling as preliminary screening for the

regular use by the 1960s.

symposium. Although international symposiums fizzled
out after a few times, CJRC continued holding domestic

Development of Ticketing Systems

symposiums and is currently composed of four committees,

International developments gained momentum using

a great contribution to development of Japan’s railway

information technologies that had seen remarkable

information technologies. The CJRC marked its 50th

developments since the 1950s, especially in cybernetics

anniversary in 2013 with a commemorative event on 24

technology proposed by Norbert Wiener. February 1962 saw

May. The Ticket Issuing and Checking System Committee

a request via French National Railways (SNCF) Presidentof CJRC and its predecessor the Standards Working GroupLouis Allemand for Japan to attend the November 1963

have played a key role in technical developments as wellincluding one that hosts domestic symposiums and makes

Tokyo Underground Railway turnstile ticket gates (lower right: layout) 

55(Tokyo Metro Museum)Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 63 • Mar 2014

First Practical application of ticket gates (Hankyu Kitasenri Station) (CJRC)

as in standardization and dissemination of ticket systems

in July 1970, a system was established to switch sales ofin Japan.

short-distance tickets completely to customer-operated

In 1962, during advances in computerization, a ticket

ticket vending machines while tickets for medium and longprinting and issuing machine was developed to automate

distances not handled by vending machines were sold byticket sales at manned counters. It used Edmondson

printing and issuing machines at manned counters, cutting

cardboard railway tickets pre-printed with the backgrounds,

labour greatly.

and necessary extra information was printed at the counter.

Advancements in Automatic Ticket Gates

This greatly simplified ticket handling compared to theprevious method where tickets were printed and managed
accountwise. It served a major role in cutting labour for

Research in automating ticket gates also advanced aroundconsolidating accounts for medium- and long-distancethe same time as advances in ticket issuing operations.

tickets, managing stock, accounting, auditing, and more.

The Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI), Kintetsu

Ticket vending machines were improved too and trials of a

Research Institute, and others started R&D in 1963 formultifunction ordinary machine that could sell multiple ticket

commuter passes, which made up 65% of all ticket gatetypes were held at Musashisakai Station on the Chuo Lineuse in Japan. Coincidentally, this was the same year thatand Kobe Station on the Tokaido main line in March 1965.

automatic ticket gates were introduced on the London

The trial machine was eventually adopted for everyday use.

Underground. The first tests were at Kintetsu’s Abenobashi

Full-scale automated ticketing and checking occurred

S tation in 19 6 6, followed by To k yu C orporation’sin 1968 with introduction of a mechanism for printing tickets

Motosumiyoshi Station, Kokubunji Station on JNR’s Chuo

on and cutting tickets from paper rolls to multifunction ticket

Line, and others. Practical trials were run in 1967 at Kitasenri

vending machine instead of printing on stiff cardboard

Station of Keihan Kyuko (now Hankyu Railway) in the Kansai

tickets. These ‘flexible tickets’ were developed with feeding

region (see photo above). Since commuter passes forto automatic ticket gates in mind, and their appearance

automatic gates used a punchcard format, mixed use withpromoted automated station operations. Ticket vending

ordinary train tickets was difficult. This format did not catch

machines were established mainly for short-distanceon and research switched to a magnetic film coated ticket.

tickets, and a format for unified management of multiple

An automatic ticket gate using magnetic tickets, introduced

types of ticket vending machines was developed in 1970.

on a test basis at Gakuen-mae Station by Kintetsu

When printing and issuing machines entered full-scale use

Corporation, marked the start of practical use of that format.

Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 63 • Mar 201456

Breakthrough in Japanese Railways 12

CJRC later decided to adopt the magnetic format. Basedfirst system put into practical use, was a seat reservation

on a proposal for station codes for all stations in Japansystem developed by RTRI in 1960 (before CJRC started)

including JNR and private railways, a so-called Cybernetics

and was independent from actual ticket issuing andStandard was established in 1971, supporting widespread

checking. It was the world’s first online real-time system,

use of automatic ticket gates. Such gates were set up fromable to make reservations for 15 days for 3600 seats on

the start at all stations of newly opened railways such as

limited express trains between Tokyo and Osaka. The

the Sapporo Municipal Subway Namboku Line (December

MARS101 developed next was Japan’s first full-scale online1971), Yokohama Municipal Subway (December 1972), andreal-time information processing system using general-

Hokuso Development Railway (March 1979). Introduction in

purpose computers, replacing MARS1 in February 1964.

earnest was seen in the Kansai region at major stations of

In October 1965, the successor MARS102 was added with

Keihan Railway, Kintetsu Corporation, Hankyu Railway, andonline reservation terminals at 152 stations across Japan. At

others from the early 1970s. By the 1980s, automatic ticket

the end of 1965, reservations for 8 days for 127,000 seats ongates had become the norm on most lines in the region. By

238 trains were available. The MARS system was graduallycontrast, in the Kanto region, JNR was hesitant about putting

improved with a large update in September 1972 as

automatic ticket gates into full-scale practical use despite

MARS105 (see photo on P58). It started operation handlingits technical lead. As a result, about the only examples were

700,000 seats a day, later increasing to 1.4 million.

test use by Tokyu Corporation and a few others. A major

The significance of MARS105 was more than its

factor was the labour situation of the time with the Kanto

quantitative performance. It had become a general

region facing much more crowding during rush hour. Also,

passenger sales system capable of selling all sorts of

the railway network was segregated into spokes with the JNR

tickets for railways, not just reserved seats. Consequently,

Yamanote Line loop as the hub, creating a situation where

the meaning of the acronym was changed to Multi-Accessprivate railways could not expect a return on the investment

Reservation System. As far as I can see, it greatly affectedof installing such ticket gates. The feeling at JNR was thatticket issuing and checking operations by revolutionizing

a switch to automatic ticket gates would cause a drop in

the conventional station operation consisting of ticket

service levels, so the only commercially introduced gatesissuing/checking as the front duty and the other back-office

were on the Musashino Line in April 1973. The objective wasoperations. The concept of a total station operations system

to observe technical and social results on a relatively low-

including management or AFC (automatic fare collection)

traffic line.

was reshaped, with counter machines positioned as POS

Japan’s automatic ticket gates need comparatively

terminals for station operations. The development focus

higher performance than those in Europe and North Americachanged from cutting labour to system oriented.

due to the traffic situation. The required gate performance ofI m m e diate ly af te r t h e 19 87 J N R div isi o n a nd

60 persons per minute is about double that of Europe andprivatization, JR East completed a companywide station

North America. Since traffic through manned ticket gatesrevenue management system, allowing revenue from all

was estimated to be more than 80 persons a minute it was

stations to be consolidated next day. Customer-operated

assumed that more ticket gates would be needed. Unlike theticket vending machines were connected to MARS, allowing

sturdy gate doors in Europe and North America, Japanese

them to buy medium- and long-distance tickets in addition togates were designed for easy flow and are softer to prevent

short-distance tickets and improving usability (see photo on

contact injury.

P. 58 below). Staffed counters handling medium- and long-

Progress was made in magnetic ticket media with

distance tickets were integrated with ticket offices handlingthe appearance of commuter passes not requiring

reserved seats. Since 1990, ticket vending machines haveplastic coatings and cards with high coercivity to prevent

been able to handle reserved seats and related long-demagnetizing by metal objects, such as handbag catches.

distance tickets.

These ticket media along with magnetized roll paper used in

JR East started full introduction of automatic ticket gatesticketing vending machines were adopted into revisions toin 1990. Although JNR had been hesitant about automaticthe Cybernetics Standard in 1990.

ticket gates as previously mentioned, a change in thinking
occurred with the successful division and privatization.

Ticketing and Checking Automatic Fare
Collection System

Automatic ticket gates were introduced along with major

The second event with a massive impact on station

revisions to the Cybernetics Standard, including the shiftoperations was the start of the MARS (Magnetic-Automatic

to high-coercivity magnetic film, played a major role

Reservation System) seat reservation system. MARS1, thein advancing automation of ticket gates nearly overnightrenovations to stations, starting with the Yamanote Lineforming the hub of metropolitan Tokyo. Technologically,

57

Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 63 • Mar 2014

MARS 105 system (JR Systems)

Ticket vending machines of typical medium station (Asagaya Station)

(JR East)

in metropolitan Tokyo with approximately 3000 gates

introduced in earnest in 1998. Thus, a new service wasintroduced by 14 railway operators in April 1992.

achieved at JR East, eliminating onboard ticket checking
by conductors of correctly seated reserved-seat and non-A method allowing multiple tickets to be inserted andreserved-seat passengers.

scanned simultaneously by an automatic ticket gate wasdeveloped, and automatic ticket gates for shinkansen wereJapan Railway & Transport Review No. 63 • Mar 201458

Breakthrough in Japanese Railways 12

Ceremony commemorating the start of SUICA service (JR East)

Contactless IC Card Tickets

use in November 2001 (see photo above), changed theTraditionally, JNR had stuck to business based on a cash-

management. Research in Suica started at RTRI at

in-advance system. However, the global trend was to switch

about the time JNR was privatized. The technology wasto credit cards and cashless transactions, so JNR issued its

perfected after extensive field testing led by JR East and

own JNR Card credit card (later partnered with other credit

being adopted as the Octopus system of Hong Kong’s MRT.

card companies), allowing credit-card purchase of tickets.

Suica launched at 424 stations in greater Tokyo as a new

The same year, it also introduced a prepaid magnetic card

ticket system based on five concepts of increased service,(Orange Card) allowing purchase of short-distance tickets

increased security, system change, cost reduction, andat ticket vending machines. The number of issued Orange

business chances.

concept of ticket gates and also revolutionized railway

Suica combines the stored fare function of the iO

Cards increased in line with trends of the time.
A key event in ticket systems was the 1991 introduction

Card and the commuter pass function in one credit card-of the iO Card. It was a major innovation, allowing magnetic

sized card that communicates information via short-cards to be used as tickets themselves rather than as arange radio signals. As a result passengers with just onemeans to purchase tickets. It also was significant inSuica card simply touch and go to travel without buying

compensating for the drop in service levels due to gateindividual tickets. Passengers using the Suica commuter

automation. While it used the same concept used bypass function have their fare adjusted automatically when

BART in the USA, it was significant in that it was adopted

travelling beyond the set commuting section, so they enjoy

by the nationwide railway network instead of just closed

the same convenience at the same discount as conventionallines. Passengers were relieved of the burden of purchasing

commuter passes. Passengers favour Suica’s conveniencetickets for each short-distance trip, and a common ticketwith sales increasing at a pace of 3.7 million cards a year

system was achieved between different operators. As

to the extent that sales of other magnetic cards such as thea result, the convenient iO Card soon ate into the Orange

Orange Card and iO Card have been discontinued. In the

Card’s market share.

Kanto region, 23 railway operators and 31 bus operators

The Suica ( Super Urban Intelligent Card) non -introduced PASMO non-contact IC cards in March 2006.

contact smart card, which JR East put into practical

They are supported by all operators and are compatible

59

Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 63 • Mar 2014

with Suica (from March 2007). The total number of Suica

Further reading

and PASMO cards sold reached 50 million in October

Japan National Railways, Nihon Kokuyu Tetsudo Hyakunenshi 13, pp 150152

2010. Following that success, non-contact card systems
Compatibility between Suica and PASMO with non-contact

Kawano, et al., ‘Joshaken Jido Insatsu Hakkouki’, The First Symposium on
the Use of Cybernetics in the Railway: Summaries of Presented Papers(hereafter, ‘CJRC Symp’.), (1963)

cards from 9 operators (JR Hokkaido, JR Central, JR West,

Exhibit at The Railway Museum (Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture)

have been adopted by railway operators across Japan.

JR Kyushu, Nagoya City Transportation Bureau, Meitetsu,

Togawa, et al., ‘Shukkaisatsu Jidouka Kiki no Kaihatsu’, 5th CJRC Symp.,(1968)

Fukuoka City Transportation Bureau, Nishitetsu and Surutto
Kansai) started in March 2013.

Kawamura et al., ‘Joshaken no Jidokenbaikigun Kanri System’, 7th CJRC
Symp., (1970)

Non-contact IC card systems have benefited railway

Congress of Japan Railway Cybernetics, Changes in Automatic Ticket
Checking System, (April 2001)

management in other ways, such as easy deployment on
small railways not previously adopting automation due to

Tainaka et al., ‘Jido Shukaisatsu Sochi’, 3rd CJRC Symp. (1966)

required facilities investment. In other words, automation can

Ohno et al., ‘Jido Kaisatsu-you Code to Hantei Houhou’, 6th CJRC Symp.,(1969)

be scaled to company size. In stations with considerable
crowding, automatic ticket gates that also use conventional

Takehara et al., ‘Seal-less Teikiken Oyobi Kani-gata Teikiken Insatsuhakkoukino Kaihatsu’, 12th CJRC Symp., (1975)

magnetic tickets can be set up along with gates only forsmart cards. At small stations and lines where automatic

Imamura et al., ‘New commutation ticket vending machine’, 24th CJRC
Symp., (1988)

ticket gates cannot be introduced, simplified IC ticketing

Information Processing Society of Japan: Computer Museum
http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/dawn/0030.html

checking machines without doors and bars that do nothandle magnetic tickets can be set up and readers can be

Sakata et al., ‘MARS101 no Unten Jisseki’, 2nd CJRC Symp., (1965)

installed on trains. Contactless IC cards also allow diversion

Sato et al., ‘MARS105 no Sekkei Shiso’, 9th CJRC Symp., (1972)

from the concept of train ‘tickets’ as is seen with Mobile

Fukumori et al., ‘POS-shiki Joshaken Hakko Sochi’, 11th CJRC Symp., (1974)

Suica using mobile phones to create a completely different

Takehara et al., ‘Kougakuken Jidohatsubai Sochi’, 12th CJRC Symp., (1975)

form of ticket checking. In fact, automatic ticket gates for big

Maruyama, ‘Shukkaisatu System no Jidoka’, 27th CJRC Symp., (1990)

cities have been modified to detect an approaching person

Otake et al., ‘Automation of the wicket of Shinkansen. Trial production of acarrying and processing unit for multiple tickets’, 29th CJRC Symp., (1994)(on the premise that the person’s ticket is being checked
and the person is passing through the gate) and track body
movement without direct contact. (However, this advanceNishino et al., ‘On the experimental implementation of SF (Stored Fare) card
system in East Japan Railway Co’., 27th CJRC Symp., (1990)

does not deviate from the concept of gate passages.)

Bay Area Rapid Transit http://www.bart.gov/index.aspx

Suica is changing the face of railway business in moreFujita et al., ‘Stored fare system of Kintetsu’, 39th CJRC Symp. (2001)

ways than just switching the ticket issuing and checking

Miki et al., ‘Contactless smart card AFC trials in East Japan Railway’, WCRR
’94, (1994)

system to use radio signals instead of magnetic formats

http://hong-kong-travel.org/octopus/

as media for tickets. It can be described as a symbolic

Ueda et al., ‘Takamatsu-Kotohira Denki Tetsudo IC Card System’, 41st CJRC
Symp., (2004)

success in creating a business for lifestyle services, oneof the management objectives of JR East. Services have

Tsukamoto et al., ‘Jido Kaisatsuki ni okeru Shin Ningen Kenchi Hoshiki no
Kaihatsu’, 42nd CJRC Symp., (2005)

expanded to include product sales using an e-money
function (March 2004), Mobile Suica with Suica functions
merged into mobile phones to enable reservations (January2006), and an auto-recharge function where the stored fareis increased automatically by credit card when the balance
becomes lower than prearranged amount. Above all, thee-money function caused a major change that could well
be a pinnacle of customer-oriented service. Nationwide
use of Suica or equivalent specification transport cards,
like PASMO, as e-money reached a remarkable 100 million
transactions a month in July 2013, demonstrating that
contactless IC cards are on the right track to establishing amajor foothold in our social infrastructure.

Shigeo Miki
Dr Miki joined JNR in 1970, after obtaining a Ph.D. in engineering atUniversity of Tokyo in 1970. He led the research and development of
IC card system in RTRI. He transferred to JR East in 1991, where hecontinued to lead the development of SUICA.

Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 63 • Mar 201460