ANNUALREPORT

2019-2020
For the year ended March 31, 2020

Railway Technical Research InstituteForeword
Ikuo WATANABE
President of the Railway Technical Research Institute

I became president of RTRI on June 12, 2020.
The year 2020 is marked as a major turning point
for RTRI. This year, RTRI started to implement
the new master plan “RESEARCH 2025” and oursociety and railways have been facing unprecedented difficulties caused by the increasingly
serious Covid-19 pandemic.
Assuming the office of president in this time ofdifficulty, I have recognized the heavy responsibilities and renewed my determination to fulfill thetasks. Based upon the Vision of RTRI establishedby the former president, Dr. Norimichi Kumagai,
I will set the direction in research activities andother businesses at RTRI to the best of my ability in order to create research results of higher
quality.
Here we have published ANNUAL REPORT
2019-2020 which covers all the activities at RTRI.
In fiscal 2019, the final year of our previous
master plan “RESEARCH 2020”, 275 researchand development projects were implemented inthree categories, “R&D for the future of railways”,“Development of practical technologies” “Basic
researches for railways”, and the master plan wascompleted.
We have also steadily pursued other businessactivities in order to achieve the goals under the
master plan. We hosted the 12th congress of theWorld Congress on Railway Research (WCRR
2019) in Japan, 20 years after WCRR ’99 which
was also held in Tokyo. We promoted international
activities including collaborative research withoverseas academic institutions and railway operators and efforts of proposing and reviewing drafts
of international railway standards. At the time ofAnnual Report 2019-2020

natural disasters such as East Japan Typhoon,
RTRI actively supported the investigations andrecovery work for damaged railway facilities.
The year 2019 was also marked with our 60th
anniversary of the opening of Kunitachi headquarters in the current location. In commemorationof the anniversary, a new test building was completed and the construction of large-scale testing
facilities were continued in order to enable more
efficient testing and research for the future.
We also developed the new master plan
“RESEARCH 2025” for the next 30 years ofrailway development to promote even moreproductive research activities. In the meantime,
we had to cancel some of our planned researchand business activities or carry them out ina smaller scale or in a different way. We haveintroduced a new working styles for employees
including teleworking as well in order to adapt to
the rapidly-advancing social changes caused by
the pandemic.
As I wrote earlier, since railways are facing the
rapidly changing social and economic environment, they have to pursue desirable work-and-lifebalance and to adapt new working styles. Under
these circumstances, we will continue the research to further develop railways and to attainthe sustainable society, making full use of our research potentials and enthusiasm as an institutewhich covers wide-ranging railway technical fields
comprehensively. Through our efforts in the years
ahead, continued support and advice from all therail-related people would be greatly appreciated.

1

Overview

Contents

Organization

2 Overview
Results of
4 MajorResearch and Development

34 News Release
67 Appendix

2

Board of Trustees

Board of Directors

Auditors

AdvisorAnnual Report 2019-2020

Railway Technical Research InstituteExecutive
Vice
Presidents

ChairmanPlanning Division

Compliance Division

Vehicle Structure
Technology Division
Vehicle Control
Technology Division
Structures
Technology Division

President
Executive
Directors

Administration Division
Miyazaki Test
CenterPower Supply
Technology Division
Track
Technology Division

Accounting Division
Disaster Prevention
Technology Division
Information
Management Division
Health Insurance
Systems Center

Signalling &Transport Information
Technology Division
Materials
Technology DivisionInternational Division
Research &Development
Promotion Division
Wind Tunnel
Technical Center
Marketing & Business
Development Division

Railway Dynamics
Division
Environmental
Engineering Division
Human Science
Division
Maglev Systems
Technology Division

Railway Technology
Promotion Center

Yamanashi
Maglev
Test Center

Railway International
Standards Center

Center for Railway
Earthquake Engineering
Research(As of April 1, 2020)

Annual Report 2019-2020

3

Major Results of
Research and Development
IMPROVEMENT OF SAFETY
1. A blinking light detection method for obstruction warning
signals by image processing• We have developed a blinking light detection method for obstruction warning signals to support a driver.
• The method enables the blinking light of obstruction warning signals to detect at distances of up to
600 meters.
• The method uses a high-speed pattern matching algorithm to enable real-time detection
An obstruction warning signal notifies drivers of anabnormality along a railway track using a blinking lightinterlocked with the emergency button at a level crossing.
Since drivers need to visually check the blinking light andoperate the brake to stop the train on most railway routes,
there exists the risk of overlooking an obstruction warning
signal. Therefore, we have developed a method to detecta blinking-type obstruction warning signal’s blinking lightusing an on-board camera to improve safety (Fig. 1).
In the developed method, an on-board camera fittedwith an optical filter is used to capture images in front of
the train and detect only the blinking light of obstruction
warning signals by processing the captured images. To
enable the rapid distinction of obstruction warning signals
from other red blinking lights such as traffic signals, theobstruction warning signal’s light-emitting pattern captured
on the images is binarized to one of two values: 1 or 0.
And the string of this repeated 1s or 0s is converted intoa binary number. By matching the values with data ina database containing the pre-registered light-emitting
patterns of obstruction warning signals converted into
numerals, higher-speed detection is possible comparedwith the method based on frequency analysis of the blinked
period (Fig. 2). A trial conducted on a test track at the
Railway Technical Research Institute confirmed that weachieved a better than 85% accuracy in detection at a
distance equivalent to 600 meters, and the detection timefrom the start of light emission was less than 1 second(Fig. 3).
We developed this method as a crucial element of frontmonitoring technology using a camera. Since it uses acamera to detect the blinking light, storing the information
as a video is possible. Furthermore, it is also applicableto other purposes.

Fig. 1: System notifying the driverFig. 3: Detection rate by distanceFig. 2: Algorithm to detect a blinking light from the video

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Railway Technical Research Institute

2. Crashworthiness evaluation index for carbody structure in
railway accidents at level crossings• An integrated deceleration value has been proposed as a crashworthiness evaluation index for carbody
structures contributing to a reduction of injuries to passengers during accidents.
• It was confirmed that the correlation coefficient between the proposed index and the seriousness of
injury was higher than that of American and European indices.
No index to evaluate crashworthiness is clearly indicated in the design standards for carbody structures inJapan. On the other hand, although evaluation indices are
specified in Western countries, the accident proneness andthe design specifications for carbody strength and interior
facilities such as seat structures are different from Japan.
Therefore, an evaluation index conforming to the actual
situations in Japan and having a high correlation with theseriousness of passenger injury has been proposed, bycollision analysis performed for accidents at level crossings
under various conditions, based on the accident statistics
and vehicle specifications in Japan.
How seriously seated passengers would be injured during a collision of a train with a large dump truck (vehicle
weight: 11 tons, shipping weight: 0 to 13.75 tons) was
estimated by analysis using a train model and a dump truckmodel (Fig. 1). The accuracy of analysis for these models
was verified by collision tests. The analytical parameters

Fig. 1:

Collision analysis under various collision conditions

Fig. 2: Integrated value of impact deceleration(Shaded area, corresponding to the relative
velocity of the passenger to the carbody)

Annual Report 2019-2020

set were: train speed, position and angle of collision, andtotal weight of dump truck; and the analysis objects were
the passengers seated on rotary cross seats (cross-seatpassengers). The correlation coefficient between the
degree of injury estimated under each condition and theintegrated value of impact deceleration occurring on the
carbody (Fig. 2, referred to the integrated deceleration
value) was 0.95 (Fig. 3), which indicated a higher correlation than the maximum value of impact deceleration
comform to the American index (correlation coefficient 0.90)
and the average value of impact deceleration conform to
the European index (correlation coefficient 0.81) (Fig. 4).
From the above, the integrated deceleration value wasproposed as an evaluation index in Japan.
This will contribute to a reduction of injuries to passengers by applying the proposed evaluation index tothe deceleration wave form on the carbody obtained bycollision analysis during carbody design.

Fig. 3: Comparison of
integrated deceleration value
and degree of injury

Fig. 4: Correlation coefficient
between each index and thedegree of injury

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Major Results of Research and Development

3. Prevention of pedestrian entry while a level crossing warning
is sounding by means of a voice message and changing thetiming of crossing gate closing• A voice message and a method of controlling level crossing rods that has proved effective in preventing
pedestrians from traversing a crossing immediately before a passing train have been proposed.
• Experiments were conducted to confirm that traversing the track by pedestrians immediately before
a train passed through was reduced by 25% by adding a voice message to the warning sound andby 64% by starting to close the level crossing gates earlier.
A survey of 2,435 pedestrians using level crossings
was conducted with the aim of reducing level crossing
accidents and the result showed that 61% of those who
experienced fallen barrier traps by entering the crossing
while the warning was sounding had misunderstood themeaning of the warning to be “Caution” instead of its
intended meaning “No entry.” Therefore, adding a voicemessage to promote a clear understanding of the intended
meaning of the level crossing warning and starting to descend the crossing rods earlier without changing the time
to complete their descending were proposed as measures
to prevent pedestrians from entering the level crossing
while the warning was sounding.
A voice message, which is expected to be effective
in communicating the dangerous situation and instructpedestrians not to enter the level crossing, was selectedfrom several options with different message contents andspeaking speeds in advance, and an experiment to simulate pedestrians traversing a level crossing was conducted
to verify its effectiveness (Fig. 1). It was confirmed that the
number of pedestrians who entered the crossing while thewarning was sounding was reduced by 25% comparedto the current rate (Fig. 2). It was also confirmed that bystarting to close the level crossing rods earlier, which visually communicated “No entry,” the number of pedestrians

Fig. 2: Effect of auditory information

6

who entered the level crossing during the warning wassounding was reduced by 64% compared to the current
rate (Fig. 3).
Thus, it can be expected that the number of level crossing accidents can be reduced by reducing the number ofpedestrians who enter the level crossing while the warning
is sounding with these methods of presenting visual andauditory information.

Fig. 1: Simulator experimentFig. 3: Effect of changing the timing to start closing

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Railway Technical Research Institute

4. Method of identifying resonant bridges by on-board
measurement• A method of using on-board measurement to identify resonant bridges in which significant vibrationis generated when a train passes over them has been developed.
• As no in-situ measurement is required, resonant bridges can be identified quickly along the entire route.
Due to the increase in the speed of trains and a deterioration of bridges, the number of bridges that are affectedby significant vibrations generated when a train passes
over them (referred to as “resonant bridges”) is increasing
and the impact on riding quality and utilities are matters ofconcern. As some sort of action is required if the vibration
is especially intense, it is necessary to identify resonant
bridges. However, to do so, previously a huge number ofbridges had to be measured from the ground to check thedeflection, which was very inefficient. Therefore, a method
to identify resonant bridges by on-board measurement
data without in-situ measurements has been developed.
The issue in making such identifications by on-board
measurement was to separate the vibration of the bridgefrom other components such as track irregularities. The
focus in developing the on-board method was placed on
the fact that there is a vibrational component unique forresonant bridges, which becomes prominent only when the
tail vehicle has passed over the bridge. In addition to filtering and enveloping processes to emphasize this vibrational
component, a process to differentiate the lead and theFig. 1: Method to detect resonant bridges using the difference
in measurement values at the lead and the tail vehicles

Annual Report 2019-2020

tail vehicles was performed to extract only the vibrational
component of the bridge, which made it possible to identify
resonant bridges (Fig. 1). Not only data on the car-bodyvertical acceleration for management of riding comfort,
but also the track irregularity data measured by inertial
mid-chord offset track measurement devices can be used
for this method. It was verified that resonant bridges could
be identified on the track maintenance database system(LABOCS) using the proposed method by comparing theresults of application on actual high-speed railway routes
and in-situ measurements of deflection (Fig. 2).
This method is applicable for determining the existenceof resonant bridges to permit speed improvements of
Shinkansen, as well as for screening overhead contactline facilities that are easily damaged by large vibrations
generated on resonant bridges.

Fig. 2: Example of identifying resonant bridges by onboard measurement

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Major Results of Research and Development

5. Detection by displacement sensor of damage to bridge bearing parts after earthquake• A method to determine whether to resume operation after an earthquake taking the amount of slip-out
of rubber bearing and train speed has been proposed.
• To minimize a time for inspections after an earthquake, displacement sensor system to remotely detect
slip-out amount has been developed.

8

When an earthquake occurs and the seismic intensity
exceeds the regulation value specified by the railway
operator, a visual inspection is required to check that
there are no abnormalities in structures. However, a lot oflabor and time is needed to inspect the bearings in highand narrow places at bridges, and furthermore, no clear
criterion for the damage to bearings had been established
for the resumption of operation. Therefore, an analysis
was conducted to clarify the allowable slip-out amount ofrubbers from rubber bearings after an earthquake relative
to train speed, and a displacement sensor that made it possible to remotely detect the slip-out amount was developed.
In the development process, first the actual damage reported after an earthquake was investigated, targeting therubber bearings installed on railway bridges and viaducts.
It became clear that the slip-out of rubber bearings had
an impact on running safety and the restorability of bearings and should be monitored by sensors. By using theseslipped-out amounts and running speed as parameters

for analysis, the allowable value of slip-out to satisfy thethresholds for running safety and restorability of bearings
was calculated. Finally, a method to determine whether
to resume operation according to the amount of slip-out
displacement and train speed was proposed. For example,
if the slip-out rate α is 30%, it is considered possible fortrains to run at speeds of up to 80 km/h (Fig. 1).
In addition, displacement sensor system that makes it
possible to remotely detect the slip-out amount quickly after
an earthquake was also developed (Fig. 2). The amountof damage can be ascertained easily from a remote place
without physically having to observe it close up, by measuring the slip-out amount and transferring the measurement
data to a network server.
This system enables detection of damage to bearings
and an early determination to be made as to whether toresume operation, serving to speed up inspections after
an earthquake and support early resumption of operation.

Fig. 1 Allowable slip-out rate relative to train speed

Fig. 2 Development of displacement sensor systemenabling remote detection of damage to bearings

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Railway Technical Research Institute

6. Seismic retrofitting method at bridge connections• A seismic retrofitting method has been developed for the connection of bridges to support girders
having different heights.
• It has been confirmed that proof strength is improved to 1.5 times better than that prior to reinforcement.
In an earthquake that occurred recently, there was acase reported in which the connecting parts of bridges
used to support girders having different heights were damaged due to the buckling of reinforcing bars, requiring along restoration period. (Fig. 1). When such connecting
parts need to be reinforced, cross girders and bearings
become obstacles and make it difficult to install anchors
to girder joint gaps and steel plate lining, like on pillars.
However, no effective reinforcing construction method
has been established. Therefore, a seismic retrofitting
method has been developed that uses prestressing bars,
steel plates and post-construction anchors to eliminate therequirement of installing reinforcement materials at girder
joint gaps (Fig. 2).

Fig.1 Damaged caseThis method uses prestressing bars to improve thebending proof strength against the inertia force to theright, as shown in Fig. 2, and steel plates to improve thebending proof strength against the inertia force to the left,
as shown in Fig. 2. Shear capacity can be improved bypost-construction anchors.
By means of a loading test, it was confirmed that apart that was shear-fractured before reinforcement was
not fractured after reinforcement, and the bending proof
strength at the connection was improved 1.5 times compared to before reinforcement (Fig. 3).

Fig. 2 Outline of seismic retrofitting method

Fig. 3 Effect of reinforcement for proof strength improvement

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9

Major Results of Research and Development

7. Method to detect DC high-resistance ground fault accompanied by high current arc• A method to detect a DC high-resistance ground fault with high current atmospheric arc discharge
more than 1,000 amperes, within around 5 seconds, has been developed.
• The method uses only monitoring of feeding current at substation and does not require any additional
trackside installations such as protective wires and discharging devices.
A method has been developed to determine the stabilityof slopes during snowmelt season using the amount ofsnowmelt as an index.
In the existing method, the maximum amount ofsnowmelt in the area is used as a threshold for determining that slope stability has declined. However, in pastgeo-disasters, there have been cases where it was notpossible to determine whether slope stability had declined.
Therefore, a method has been proposed to determine
slope stability using two indicators: the snowmelt volume
and snow depth.
The new method uses observation data from AMeDAS
and public geographical data in the vicinity of the target
point to estimate the amount of snowmelt and snow depth
in order to determine slope stability. Using AMeDAS data,
past snowmelt volumes for each snow depth are thencalculated and then set as threshold values. By comparing the threshold values with actual snowmelt volumes

Fig. 1 Image showing application of fault detection system

Fig. 3 Feeding circuit current during a failure andnumber of times of fluctuation by proposed method

10and snow depth calculated on the basis of AMeDAS data
updated on an hourly basis, it is possible to determine
the slope stability (Fig. 1). Taking past geo-disasters as areference, the ratios of successfully detected deteriorated
slopes (disaster detection rate) using the existing andnewly developed methods were compared. The resultsof the comparison confirmed that even though results inboth systems were the same in terms of the time in which
the amount of snowmelt exceeded the threshold value, thenewly developed method’s disaster detection rate was approximately 20% higher than the existing method (Fig. 2).
Given that the new method only uses publicly available
data and information, it allows the stability of any slope to
be examined, without the need to install a new network ofobservation equipment. In addition, the system is designed
so that if the system is used in an environment with internet
access, the user can obtain a visual display of the slope
stability result in any location, as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 2 Waveform processing algorithm

Fig. 4 Normal feeding circuit current and number oftimes of fluctuation by proposed method

Annual Report 2019-2020

Railway Technical Research Institute

8. Compound Catenary for preventing break of contact wires atinsulated overlaps• A compound catenary, with attached an additional wire by using clamp on a contact wire of simple
catenary, was developed to prevent the break of the contact wire at insulated overlaps.
• Through field test, it was confirmed that excessive contact loss and excessive wear of contact wires
were not occurred.
Trains must be stopped when an emergency stop button
is pressed or another emergency warning is issued. If
the train stops at insulated overlaps (Air Section (AS) in
Japanese) where two overhead contact lines from different power supply systems are laid in parallel, an arc may
be generated between the pantograph contact strip andthe contact wire and causes a break of the contact wire.
Several hardware measures had been proposed to prevent
such problems, but all of them had issues such as highcost and difficulty in maintenance.
Therefore, a compound catenary for preventing breakof the contact wire (named AS compound catenary) was
developed for a simple catenary of conventional lines. Withan AS compound catenary, even though the contact wireis extended due to the heat of the arc that is generated
between the pantograph contact strip and the contact wire,
the contact wire is lowered because of the transmissionof the tension from the contact wire to the additional wire.

As a result, the contact wire contacts with the pantographcontact strip to extinguish the arc (Fig. 1).
An AS compound catenary has a simple structure inwhich an additional wire is attached 50 mm above thecontact wire by using clamp at intervals of 500 mm (Fig.
2). Since it is possible to measure the diameter of contact
wire by an inspection car in the same way as a generalcatenary, low cost and labor saving for maintenance canbe achieved.
It is necessary to evaluate the current collection
performance of an AS compound catenary on accountof increase of the mass of an AS compound catenary
compared to a simple catenary. As a result of evaluation
current collection performance of an AS compound catenary in a commercial line, it was confirmed that excessive
contact loss and excessive wear of contact wires were notoccurred (Fig. 3).

Fig. 1 Arc extinction with AS compound catenary

Fig. 2: Structure of AS compound catenary

Fig. 3 Field test result in a commercial line

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Major Results of Research and Development

COST REDUCTION

9. L
 ow-cost and labor-saving lubricating oil analyzerfor
driving equipments• A lubricating oil analyzer has been developed to enable the measurement of the concentration of ironpowder in oil for driving equipments in a short time, which reduces the cost of doing so to less than
one-fifth that of conventional methods.
• As it is compact and easy to use, it is possible to diagnose the condition of equipment by analyzing
the concentration of iron powder in oil in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle.
Optical emission spectrometers are currently used toanalyze the concentration of iron powder mixed in with oil,
as a measure to detect signs of abnormal wear and seizure
occurring inside driving equipments such as engines andto prevent damage to equipment on commercial lines.
However, current analyzers are large and expensive, andrequire skill acquisition to use them and for data analysis,so that places where such devices can be installed arelimited to base factories and other large facilities. For
that reason, in practice, collected oil samples need to betransported to a dedicated place for analysis, resulting in
the problem of a longer time being required to obtain theanalysis results.
Therefore, an oil analyzer that is easy to use and thatcan diagnose equipment conditions at vehicle maintenancesites has been developed (Fig. 1, Fig. 2). This analyzer isequipped with a sensor capable of electrically analyzing theiron powder concentration in oil by flowingg the oil throughan internal coil. The accuracy of abnormality determination
with this sensor is equal to or better than that of the conventional method using optical emission spectrometry. The
structure of the analyzer has been designed to allow easy
installation in the vicinity of vehicles, while the oil passage
inside the analyzer has been shortened to downsize andshorten the analysis time, taking usage at inspection andrepair sites into consideration.
With this analyzer, analysis of the iron powder concentration in oil can be completed in about 20 minutes in thevicinity of the vehicle without the need to place a sampleof the oil in a container, leading to a significant reduction ofanalysis time compared to the conventional method (Fig.
3). In addition, the analyzer price is less than one-fifth of
a conventional optical emission spectrometer. Moreover,as this sensor can be mounted on equipment for vehicles,
it is expected to be used for monitoring the iron powder
concentration in oil in real time in future.

Fig. 1 Developed lubricant analysis device and its structure

Fig. 2 Example of analysis using this analyzer

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Fig.3 Comparison of analysis procedures with conventional
methodAnnual Report 2019-2020

Railway Technical Research Institute

10. M
 ethod to design and manage ballasted tracks
equivalent to an increase in the spacing of sleepers• A method to design and manage ballasted tracks has been proposed equivalent to an increase in thespacing of sleepers in regional railways.
• The spacing of sleepers can be determined according to the maintenance system in the section.

Some railway operators have started to look at increasing the spacing of sleepers for ballasted tracks as ameasure to reduce the cost of railway track maintenancefor regional railways. However, since there are concerns
regarding the rapid rate of track settlement dependingon the track bed and ballast layer conditions, as well as
adverse effects on vehicle-running safety due to problems
including local unsupported sleepers and rail fastener failures, the establishment of a design method is required.
Therefore, a method to design and manage ballasted
tracks has been proposed equivalent to an increase in
the spacing of sleepers for regional railways.
The following is an outline of this method. (1) Calculate
the lateral ballast resistance force corresponding to theincreased spacing of sleepers as well as the track settlement amount under the condition of ballast mixed with
fine-grained soil. (2) Calculate the effect of the rail fastening system design according to common usage conditions
and examine the strength of the members. (3) Use the

newly developed unsupported sleeper detection method(a method to detect unsupported sleepers by calculating
the values from track irregularity data and track specifications) and determine the control index to secure runningsafety. The procedures above enable the calculation of the
optimum spacing of sleepers possible to maintain runningsafety according to the maintenance system of each section including the level and frequency of track maintenanceand patrol frequency.
Please note that the developed unsupported sleeper
detection method is incorporated in the railway track
maintenance management database system (LABOCS).
The proposed design and management method will bereflected in the design standards.

Fig. 1 Outline of method to increase the spacing of sleepers for ballasted tracks

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Major Results of Research and Development

11. Ballast soundness inspection method using soundcharacteristics• The factors that cause crushing and refining of ballast have been clarified.
• A method has been developed to evaluate the state of deterioration using sound transmitted throughthe ballast.
• Inspection costs can be reduced by 70% compared to the conventional method.
Ballast is crushed and ground due to aging, but thefactors that cause this have not been clarified fully so far.
Therefore, cyclic loading tests assuming the train load,
tamping tests using a tie tamper and multiple tie tampers,
and impact loading tests assuming the impact load generated on rail joints were conducted to clarify the factorsthat cause crushing and refining. The results of the tests
show that the deterioration of ballast was affected moreby tamping than by train load, that manual tie tamper work
could generate fine particles, and that grains of a larger
particle size could be crushed into fine particles by multiple
tie tampers (Fig. 1).
Periodical inspection to evaluate the state of deterioration of ballast is typically done by excavating the ballast tovisually examine it; however, there are issues regarding thelabor required for excavation as well as discrepancies in
evaluations due to the subjective views of the inspectors.

Therefore, an inspection method has been developed toevaluate the state of deterioration of ballast quickly andquantitatively by evaluating the loudness of sound transmitted inside the ballast (Fig. 2). Based on a laboratory test
and a field test using this method, it was clarified that there
was a strong correlation between the rate of fine particle
content, which was a major factor in causing mud pumping,
and the loudness of the sound transmitted inside the ballast(Fig. 3). The proposed method can reduce inspection costby 70% compared to the conventional method, as the stateof deterioration of ballast can be evaluated in a short time.

Fig. 1 Factors that cause crushing and refining of ballast

Fig. 2 Inspection of state of deterioration of ballast usingtransmitted sound

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Fig. 3 Relation between rate of fine grain content andtransmitted soundAnnual Report 2019-2020

Railway Technical Research Institute

12. Visual inspection support system for structures utilizing 3D
images• A visual inspection support system has been developed to generate three-dimensional images ofstructures.
• The system can support to detect a damage and evaluate its progress by comparing images fromdifferent inspection timings.
During periodic inspection of structures as currently
conducted, photographs and inspector’s comments are recorded mainly for extracted damages. A system utilizing 3D
images has been developed to support visual inspectionsof structures. By using this system, the condition of a structure and its surroundings can be checked intuitively with
3D images at any time. The 3D images are generated fromthe 2D images that were taken automatically during visualinspections, using SfM (Structure from Motion) technology(Fig. 1). Typically, images taken from all directions at evenintervals are used to generate 3D images. However, in
this system, the images are taken by multiple cameras
whose positions are adjusted to cover a wide angle andthen the needed images are selected automatically, so that

3D image generation can be achieved even when taking
images with non-uniform movement during inspection.
This system can also support to detect damages andmake a register. Not only does a direct comparison of
3D images taken at different inspection timings make iteasy to detect damages (Fig. 2), but also a comparison ofcross-sections enables any change in shape to be evaluated quantitatively. In addition, because this system can
automatically extract the original images from any points
designated in a 3D image and can prepare an inspection
register from those images (Fig. 3), it is no longer necessary to spend time organizing and extracting images after
an inspection, resulting in a reduced burden of office work.

Fig. 1 Photographing and 3D image generation screen

Fig. 2 Function to compare 3D images from different timings

Fig. 3: Function to extract original images and compile an inspection register

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Major Results of Research and Development

13. Antiseismic reinforcement design method for existing embankments by slope protection work and soil reinforcement• A design method for the antiseismic reinforcement of embankments has been proposed by evaluating
the water shielding effect and the joining effect with soil reinforcement installed for slope protection
work for existing embankments.
• The cost of reinforcement work can be reduced by 5 to 10% compared to that for an embankment
designed using conventional design methods.
Slope protection work is often executed on an embankment as a measure against rainfall. However, the efficiency
of slope protection work against earthquakes has not been
ascertained yet, and therefore, was not considered at thetime of antiseismic reinforcement design.
Accordingly, focusing on the water shielding effect ofslope protection work to cover the embankment slope aswell as the joining effect of the slope protection work withground reinforcing bars, an investigation was conducted toascertain the effects of both and establish an antiseismic
reinforcement design method based on them. As the resultof long-term field measurement and numerical analysis
using an actual embankment, it was confirmed that slope
protection work to cover an embankment had a water
shielding effect in restraining the rise of the degree ofsaturation in the embankment (Fig. 1). In addition, it wasalso confirmed, by shaking table test, that the resistanceof soil reinforcement was increased by the joining effect tointegrate the slope protection work and soil reinforcement,
and consequently the seismic resistance of the embankment was improved (Fig. 2). An antiseismic reinforcement
design method incorporating these two effects has been
proposed and the reproducibility has been confirmed
through testings and on site.
By means of a trial design of antiseismic reinforcement
for an embankment using the proposed method, it was
found that the installation length of soil reinforcement could
be shortened due to the effects of slope protection work
(Fig. 3). This method can reduce the cost of antiseismic
reinforcement work for embankments by 5 to 10%.

Fig .1 Seismic resistance improvement in existing embankment by slope protection work

Fig. 2 Joining effect of slope protection workwith reinforcing bars

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Fig. 3:

Example of trial antiseismic reinforcement design ofembankment

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Railway Technical Research Institute

14. Overhead contact line measurement device using 3D measurement and image analysis• A contactless 3D measurement device has been developed for overhead contact line facilities.
• Residual diameter can be determined with an accuracy of +/-0.1 mm by means of the developed contact
wire wear measuring method using a light-section method.
• The data obtained by both methods can be utilized for high-precision measurement and the automatic
diagnosis of an overhead contact line facility.
A contactless overhead contact line measurement device that is mounted on the roof of an electric inspection
car and a commercial line vehicle to inspect the installation
condition of wires for overhead contact lines (contact wire,
messenger wire, and other wires) and fittings (droppers,
connectors, and other fittings), as well as a contact wire
wear measuring method using a light-section method torealize high-precision measurement with a compact device
have been developed.
A contactless overhead contact line measurement
device (Fig. 1) is used to measure the 3D position andthe shape of each wire and fitting using a combination ofimage analysis and laser measurement. The results of atrial measurement using this device mounted on the roofof a conventional line vehicle traveling at speeds of up to
130 km/h, confirmed that the height and horizontal stagger
of a contact wire could be obtained within a precision of+/-10 mm in repeated measurements; and that more than
90 % of droppers could be extracted automatically from theimages (Fig. 2). As this device can record the condition ofan overhead contact line facility in both numerical values
and images, it is possible not only to inspect the differencein height of overhead crossing lines and the tension on amessenger wire, but also to diagnose abnormalities suchas deformation of fittings.
A contact wire wear measuring method using the lightsection method is used to measure the 3D shape of thelower half of a contact wire by image analysis using theshape of a laser slit light irradiated onto the contact wire
(Fig. 3), and enables high-precision wear measurement
regardless of the condition of the sliding surface. The
results of a verification test conducted by mounting theexperimental device on the roof of a Shinkansen vehicle(Fig. 4), confirmed that the residual diameter of a contact
wire could be measured with an accuracy of better than +/0.1 mm on average. Accordingly, this method can eliminate
any deterioration in the accuracy of the measurement of
the residual diameter of contact wires, caused by unevenwear and burrs on sliding surfaces.

Fig.1 Contactless overhead contact line measurement device

Fig. 2 3D static structure of overhead contact line
(conventional line)

Fig. 3 Measurement principle of light-section method

Fig. 4:3D shape of contact wire (Shinkansen)

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17

Major Results of Research and Development

15. Useful life evaluation method for electronic equipment of
wayside signalling systems• A new useful life evaluation method for electronic equipment of wayside signalling systems has beendeveloped that takes into consideration the operational stress caused by energization as well as theenvironmental stress caused by temperature and humidity.
• With this method, equipment updates can be scheduled at a proper timing based on the usage
environment.
Electronic equipment constituting the signalling systems
used along a railway line is subject to operational stressdue to energization as well as environmental factors
including temperature and humidity, corrosive gases andvibration (Fig. 1). This has made it difficult to understandthe main factor and the tendency of deterioration, leading
to issues in determining the proper timing of updates.
Therefore, an investigation was conducted to better
understand the environment in which wayside signallingsystems are used and the actual conditions of failures.
The results showed that the dominant deterioration factors
impacting equipment useful life were operational stressdue to energization and environmental stress caused bytemperature and humidity changes. Based on the results of
the investigation, a method to evaluate useful life has beendeveloped focusing on cracks generated in solder joints ofelectronic parts themselves consisting of electronic equipment and their substrates (Fig. 2). With this method, notonly can the useful life of an electronic part be calculated
according to the usage environment by utilizing the resultsof a reliability test implemented by the part manufacturer,
but also the useful life of solder joints can be calculatedby accelerated tests to reproduce solder cracks caused bytemperature change, so as to identify weak points basedon each calculation result and estimate the service life ofequipment. An evaluation was attempted by applying thismethod to train detectors for grade crossing in two typesof equipment boxes under different usage conditions--withand without a shield to block direct sunlight. The results
confirmed that weak points could be identified under eachcondition and the estimated useful life could be calculated(Fig. 3).
This method will help railway operators to quantitatively
estimate the useful life of electronic equipment for signalling systems used along their railway lines and develop
update schedules, if they use the evaluation tool implemented using this method in spreadsheet software alongwith the procedure manual. This method is also applicablefor electronic equipment other than signalling systems.

Fig. 2 Outline of useful life evaluation method
for wayside electronic equipment

Fig.1 Stress factors for electronic equipment
installed by the wayside

Fig. 3 Example of application to train detectors for grade crossing

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Railway Technical Research Institute

16. Support system to determine the signal arrangement• A support system has been developed to determine the signal arrangement, by means of which it ispossible to calculate the signal aspect system and headway immediately.
• As both the signal aspect transition system and the headway can be evaluated using this system,
efficiency in the review process for the signal arrangement can be improved significantly.
To improve track layout, including building new stations,a process called “an examination of the signal arrangement“ is required to review the current signal arrangement. In
this process, the following tasks need to be repeated until
the headway target is satisfied: (1) prepare a signal aspect transition system to show transitions in signal aspect
based on the proposed signal arrangement; (2) calculate
the headway to show the interval of train operation basedon this; and (3) check if the headway satisfies the target
value (Fig. 1). The proposed signal arrangement needs
to be adjusted in order to create a signal aspect transition
system, requiring a lot of time for review to determine
the signal arrangement. In addition, this process needs
knowledge on creating a train performance curve having
the requisite conditions to achieve the longest deceleration
distance from the perspective of signalling safety.

Therefore, a support system that can calculate both thesignal aspect transition system and headway immediately
has been developed by devising a train performance curve
preparation function taking signal aspect transition system
conditions into consideration and a calculation method for
deceleration distance between each signal, and implementing the algorithm owned by RTRI to calculate thetrain performance curve at high speed (Fig. 2). Througha verification test, it was confirmed that this system could
evaluate in a few seconds the required the signal arrangement for a route about 15 km long and having 20 signals.
Since this system can automatically perform thecalculations to evaluate both the signal aspect transition
system and the headway, it is expected to shorten the timerequired for the review process of the signal arrangement.

Fig.1 Process to review an examination of the signal
arrangement and target of the developed system

Fig. 2 Support system to determine the signal arrangement

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Major Results of Research and Development

HARMONY WITH THE ENVIRONMENT

17. High Performance Fuel Cell Hybrid Railway Vehicle• A fuel cell hybrid railway vehicle with an acceleration performance equivalent to electric motive units
has been developed by increasing power capacity of fuel cells and storage batteries.
• Passengers’ space was secured by mounting the fuel cells and the power converter under the vehicle
floor.
A fuel cell hybrid railway vehicle which is close to apractical use has been developed (Fig. 1). The vehicle
secures passengers’ space and has an acceleration
performance equivalent to electric motive units (starting
acceleration: 2.5 km/h/s), which will contribute to reduceground electric facilities in electrified sections in the future. To achieve such a high performance, the total power
capacity of fuel cells and storage batteries was increased
to 690 kW. That was improved by 50% compared to theprevious one and was the power required for operation
on a flat section. Also, the main circuit equipment had
to be downsized to be able to mount under the vehicle
floor. To achieve this purpose, the power capacity ratioof the storage batteries compared to the fuel cells wasincreased in order to make the configuration superior to
downsizing whole main circuit equipment. Furthermore,

as for the fuel cells, by introducing fuel cell stacks withhigh current density and downsizing cooling equipment,
the volume of the equipment per output could be reduced
by 20% compared to the previous one. As for the power
converters, by integrating the multiple power conversion
components and using low-loss semiconductors (SiC),
the volume of the equipment could be reduced by 45%
compared to the previous one.
By these efforts, passengers’ space was secured (Fig.
2). Also, in test runs on our test track, it was demonstrated
that the vehicle ran with an acceleration performanceequivalent to electric motive units by using the hybrid
power of fuel cells and storage batteries (Fig. 3). This study
result contributes to a CO2 reduction of railway vehicles
and a reduction of ground electric facilities in electrified
sections, which leads to a saving on maintenance work.

Part of this study was implemented with a subsidy from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism for railway
technical development.Fig. 3 Example of diagnosis of track stiffness using the portable RFWD

Fig. 1 Fuel cell hybrid railway vehicle

Fig. 2 Passengers’ space

20

Fig. 3 Result of basic running performance test

Annual Report 2019-2020

Railway Technical Research Institute18. M ethod to improve efficiency of electromagnetic
compatibility tests for railway vehicle• The electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) test essential for commercial use of newly produced andremodeled vehicles has been improved.
• Measuring instrument capable of measuring four frequencies at once has been developed.
• The time required for an EMC test can be halved thanks to the revised running conditions and the
new measuring instrument.
Current electric railway vehicles achieve energy saving by using highly efficient power converters; however,
the electromagnetic emission radiated from the power
converter can have an adverse effect on railway signal
devices. Because of this, an EMC test is performed tocheck the electromagnetic emission of newly produced
and remodeled vehicles. However, the need for testing
and the testing timings are increasing due to the increaseof diesel electric cars and the introduction of new signaling
system equipment to improve safety, leading to the needfor efficient implementation of EMC tests. For example, inthe case of a signal device commonly used by JR companies, the number of measurement times required in one
testing is 40 times and it takes more than three hours tocomplete the test. Therefore, in addition to a revision ofrunning conditions that is necessitated by the need fortesting, a new measuring instrument has been developed
to enable measurements to be repeated several times foreach frequency to be completed at one time and a method
to reduce measurement work has been proposed (Fig. 1).
First, with respect to the improvement of running
conditions, electromagnetic emission is considered to

be unchanged by acceleration or regenerative braking,as it has no relation to the magnitude and direction ofcurrent necessary for acceleration and deceleration. Aftertaking actual measurements to verify this, testing withregenerative braking was decided to be optional, out of
the current running conditions (five kinds). Next, because
a general-purpose measuring instrument is used for theconventional measurements, only one frequency can bemeasured at one measurement and if the center frequency
is different--even for the same signal device--the runningtests need to be performed separately. Therefore, by
making a measuring circuit that concentrates only on thenecessary functions for EMC tests for four units out of all
the functions of general-purpose measuring instruments,a measuring instrument that can measure four frequencies
at one time has been developed.
Thanks to the revised running conditions and the newly
developed measuring instrument, the measuring work
necessary for EMC tests to be implemented by railway
operator or vehicle manufacturer can be reduced from 40
times to 20 times (Fig. 1), and thus the testing time canbe halved.

Table 1: Effect on reducing number of measuring times

Fig. 1 Measuring equipment

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21

Major Results of Research and Development

19. Three-stage train nose shape for micro-pressure wave
reduction• The effectiveness of a multistage train nose shape for micro-pressure wave reduction has been madeclear by acoustic theory.
• A multistage train nose shape of an axis-symmetrical configuration was designed by computational
fluid dynamics (CFD), it was confirmed that the micro-pressure wave was reduced by about 5% by amultistage train nose shape compared to a train nose design based on the previous theory in modelexperiments.
Due to recent increases in the speed of the Shinkansen,
the development of an effective train nose shape has been
an important issue for suppressing micro-pressure waves
generated at tunnel entrances. Therefore, a different approach than before was taken to develop a train noseshape that could suppress the micro-pressure wave more
effectively than the conventional nose shape based on
previous theory.
In the previous theory of designing train nose shapes,
taking a shape derived from model experiments and CFD
analysis, smooth configurations in which the change rateof the cross-sectional area is bigger at the tip of the trainnose and constant in the middle to rear part have been
recommended. However, further studies using linear
acoustic theory has revealed that micro-pressure waves
can be reduced by using a multistage nose shape in which
the cross-sectional area changes in stages--each stage
corresponding to the radius of the cross section of thetunnel. For example, in the case of a train nose with alength of about 12 m, the micro-pressure wave is more
likely to be reduced by a three-stage shape (Fig. 1, Fig. 2).
Based on the theoretical knowledge explained above,
the position and the size of each stage have been determined by CFD analysis in order to develop a three-stage
train nose shape that can suppress micro-pressure waves
without significant flow separation for axis-symmetricaltunnels without an entrance hood (Fig. 2). As the result ofmodel experiments to confirm the effect of a three-stage
train nose, it was found that the peak value of micropressure waves could be reduced by an additional 5 %or so compared to the conventional train nose based on
the previous theory (Fig. 3). Furthermore, it is possible toshorten the length of a train nose by 1 m, while maintaining
a performance equivalent to that of a 12 m long conventional nose shape.

Fig. 1 New concept for train nose shape

Fig. 2 New train nose shape and distributionof its cross-sectional areas

22

Fig. 3 Comparison of micro-pressure wave peak values
between new train nose and conventional train nose

Annual Report 2019-2020

Railway Technical Research Institute20. Aerodynamic noise-reduction measure and average
lift force compensation mechanism for a Shinkansen
pantograph• A multi-segment smooth-shaped pantograph head and a low-noise head support have been developed
and confirmed to have an aerodynamic noise reduction effect of 2.7 dB.
• An average lift force compensation mechanism has been developed to suppress the variations inaverage lift force to about one-fourth that of conventional mechanisms.
Due to the increase in the speed of the Shinkansen,
measures to reduce the aerodynamic noise caused bypantographs are required. Therefore, focusing on the
pantograph head and head support, which are the main
sources of the noise, the pantograph head and headsupport detailed below have been developed: (1) a multisegment smooth-shaped pantograph head capable ofboth aerodynamic noise reduction and compliance performance, and (2) a low-noise head support combining
head support cover applying metal porous material andan improved head support to set the pantograph head
position to the upstream side (Fig. 1). It was confirmed bya wind tunnel test that these developments could reduce
the aerodynamic noise by 2.7 dB (Fig. 2). Please note that
an aerodynamic noise reduction effect can be obtained
to an extent by applying just one of these developments
individually (Fig. 2).
The average lift force compensation mechanism is used

to suppress lift force variation, which tends to becomelarger for a pantograph head having a smooth-shaped
cross section with emphasis on low-noise performance.
The lift force variation is compensated by estimating the
average lift force of the pantograph from the pressures atfive points on the pantograph head surface and by useof a signal to indicate the height of the pantograph head,
controlling a pneumatic cylinder mounted on the pantograph and adjusting the static uplift force (Fig. 3). With thismechanism, it was confirmed in wind tunnel tests that therange in variation of the average lift force could be reduced
to about one-fourth that of the conventional mechanism
when the wear on the contact strip, working height, andattack angle were changed (Fig. 4). The average lift force
compensation mechanism will help in the developmentof a low-noise pantograph with high current-collection
performance.

Fig. 1 Measure to reduce aerodynamic sound of pantographFig. 2 Aerodynamic sound reduction effect (360 km/h)

Fig. 3 Adverage lift force compensation mechanism

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Fig. 4: Result of average lift force compensation23

Major Results of Research and Development

21. Demonstration of a superconducting feeder system
function for commercial lines• A running test using a test car was conducted by connecting a superconducting feeder system to thefeeder of a commercial line in parallel.
• The test demonstrated that voltage drop was reduced and the superconducting feeder system could
be disconnected smoothly without interfering with a running train.
In DC electric railways, there are several issues suchas regenerative brake cancellation and transmission loss
affected by the electric resistance of a feeder to the supply
power from a substation to a vehicle, and feeding voltage drop between substations. Given that a feeder cableusing a high-temperature superconductor can transmit
power with no electric resistance when cooled with liquid
nitrogen, by applying it for feeders, a number of effects
can be expected such as reducing feeding voltage drop
and leveling the loads of substations, in addition to savingenergy by reducing regenerative brake cancellations andtransmission loss.
Therefore, specifications--including the withstandvoltage of a superconducting feeder system required forconnection to a commercial line for the cable part andthe cooling equipment part---have been organized and asuperconducting feeder system has been produced basedon them. First, tests for conductivity and other factors
were conducted to check that this system had the desired

Fig. 1 Running test for superconducting feeder systemon a commercial line

24

performance to satisfy the specifications.
Next, running tests using test cars were conductedby connecting the superconducting feeder system to thefeeder of a commercial line in parallel (Fig. 1) to confirm
that the voltage drop could be reduced along a 408-meter
section to connect the superconducting feeder system forfeeding one train set. In addition, a test to disconnect thesystem and the existing feeder was conducted assuming adisaster or an accident to stop the superconducting feeder
system, and it was demonstrated that the system could be
disconnected smoothly without interfering with a runningtrain (Fig. 2).
As a future task, development will be continued toaccumulate technical knowledge such as that on temperatures and voltage drops for cooling performance as wellas conducting performance to enable the desired support
required by service conditions that vary by each section,with the aim of realizing a more practical system.

Fig. 2

Running test for superconducting feeder systemon a commercial line

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Railway Technical Research Institute

IMPROVEMENT OF CONVENIENCE

22. Rubber bush to suppress vibration transmission
between bogie and carbody• A rubber bush for single links and yaw dampers has been developed to reduce vibration transmission
from bogies.
• A reduction in carbody vibration by more than 3 dB was achieved in running tests and bench tests.
• The cost is almost the same as current parts and it is replaceable with the existing rubber bush.
Vibration of the carbody during travel needs to be reduced as it has adverse effects on riding quality. Therefore,a rubber bush for single links and yaw dampers has beendeveloped to suppress vibration transmission from thebogies to a carbody to reduce the elastic vibration of the
carbody and improve riding quality (Fig. 1).With this rubberbush, the inner fixture (pin) and the rubber that are usually
bonded and integrated are left unbonded, leaving a micro
gap between them.to isolate the high-frequency vibrationof the bogie. On the other hands, the pin makes contact
with the rubber when the relative displacement between
the bogie and the carbody becomes bigger so that therubber exhibits the same performance as a regular buffer
rubber. Thus, the rubber bushes achieve both the suppression of high-frequency vibration transmission and therunning stability. The cost is almost the same as current
parts, and it is replaceable with the existing rubber bush.

Running tests on a commercial line using this rubber
bushes on the yaw dampers of a limited express car
confirmed that the vertical vibration of the carbody was
reduced by more than 3 dB and the ride quality level (LT)was improved, indicating the effect improved the ride
quality (Fig. 2).
We have conducted high-speed rotation tests on therolling stock test plant to confirm the running stability of a
Sinkansen type test vehicle equipped with the developed
rubber bushes in the single links and/or the yaw dampers.
It was then verified by the excitation tests that the vibration
acceleration power of the vehicle carbody was reduced by
60% under the condition where the longitudinal exciting
forces became prominent (Fig. 3).

Fig. 1:Developed rubber bush and its installation on vehicle (Yaw damper of limited express train)

Fig. 2 Result of running test on limited express vehicle(Vertical acceleration PSD applied to center of carbody)

Annual Report 2019-2020

Fig.3 Result of excitation test on Shinkansen vehicle(Vertical acceleration PSD applied to center of carbody)25

Major Results of Research and Development

23. Re-adhesion control by detection system indicating current
difference and acceleration for 1-inverter/4-motor vehicle• A re-adhesion control method combining current difference detection and acceleration detection has
been designed for 1-inverter/4-motor system electric railcars, of which there are a large number ofvehicles.
• Due to the decrease in torque reduction after detection of wheel slip, the average acceleration was
improved by about 5%.
For electric railcars, propulsion systems to drive multiple
traction motors collectively by one inverter (for example,
1C2M to drive two traction motors by one inverter, and1C4M to drive four traction motors) are used widely.
Since four traction motors are collectively controlled by
one inverter on an 1C4M railcar, if wheel slip occurs evenon just one axis, the torques of all four axes are reduced
due to re-adhesion, leading to a significant degradationof acceleration performance. Therefore, in order to utilize
the adhesive force more effectively, torque control taking
wheel slip into consideration is required. Two previously
developed techniques that had proven records for tractive
effort improvement: “acceleration detection” for a 1C1M
locomotive and “current difference detection” for a 1C2M
electric railcar were combined (Fig. 1) to make them applicable for a 1C4M electric railcar.
This combination of technologies enables a decrease intorque reduction, thus controlling wheel slip (Fig. 2), andresulting in improved acceleration performance. There are
six possible combination methods for current comparison
among the four traction motors of an 1C4M electric railcar,
however, by focusing on the fact that the current of the
traction motor on the axle experiencing wheel slip drops

against the command value, and by replacing the drop in
current for traction motors of all axles by current difference,a low-cost system capable of detecting sign of wheel slips
using only one current difference detector set could be
configurated.
To confirm the effectiveness of this control method,verification tests were conducted using a suburban train(3M3T) (Fig. 3). The results showed the average torquecould be controlled to a high level, and the average acceleration of the train was improved by approximately
5%. The resulting the ride quality level (Lt value) was
reduced by approximately 3dB and the maximum valueof longitudinal vibration of the carbody was reduced byapproximately 30%.
By using this controlling method in combination withthe already exisiting re-adhesion control method for
1C1M and 1C2M, an improvement in the performanceof re-adhesion control is made available for more than
90% of vehicles used on conventional lines. Furthermore,as most Shinkansen railcars use the 1C4M system, an
improvement in acceleration performance in high-speed
areas can be expected by applying this control method.

Fig .1 Torque control method for 1C4M electric railcar

Fig. 2 Behavior of torque during re-adhesion control

Fig. 3:Result of running test

This study used parts of the achievements obtained by “Basic Research Promotion System in the Transportation Field” of theformer Corporation for Advanced Transport and Technology.

26

Annual Report 2019-2020

Railway Technical Research Institute24. Method to extract points susceptible to groundvibration increase due to train speed increase• A method to extract the combination of ground conditions and structure characteristics that may
increase ground vibration larger than other conditions has been proposed.
• By adding a new vibration characteristics model of a structure to a conventional model of vibration
amplification characteristics of the ground, the points susceptible to ground vibration increase can beassessed without detailed numerical analysis.
Ground vibration caused by running trains generally
increases linearly in proportion to the logarithm of the train
speed. To date, RTRI has proposed a method to assess theinclination of this line in advance based on the thicknessof the ground surface layer and average N value of thesurface layer (index of hardness) obtained through groundinvestigation for construction. However, even though the
thickness of the ground surface layer and the N value were
almost the same level, the amount of increase could differ
from other points due to local variations.
Therefore, a detailed examination was performed basedon numerical simulations and past measurements, toclarify that the vibration characteristics of a structure (forexample, the natural frequencies of a girder) had an impact
on the local variation. Based on this knowledge, a method
has been developed to assess the increase in groundvibration when increasing train speed without performing

detailed numerical analysis. With this method, vibration
characteristics including ground vibration amplification
characteristics and natural frequencies of a structure (Fig.
1) are combined to make a vibration transmission modelfor the target point of assessment (Fig. 2), and the ability
to assess the increase in ground vibration involving local
variations indicated on the actual measurement data has
been confirmed (Fig. 3)
The process of this method is, first to roughly evaluate
the amount of increase in ground vibration when increasing
train speed according to the ground conditions, and then to
narrow down the structure characteristics likely to influence
the ground vibration under the ground conditions considered to have a large impact. This method is expected to be
applied for prior assessment of a combination of groundconditions and structure characteristics that can increase
the variation in ground vibration.

Fig. 1 Proposed modelFig. 2 Example of vibration transmission characteristics
incorporating the impact by a structure

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Fig. 3: Example of vibration level assessment result27

Major Results of Research and Development

BASIC RESEARCH

25. Impact-enegy absorption structure to suppress
deformation of an aluminum alloy carbody structure ina collision• A new design for a replaceable impact-energy absorption structure to be attached to the head car
made of aluminum alloy has been proposed.
• This structure suppresses the deformation of a carbody structure in the event of a grade crossing
accident, and shortens the time for restoration of the carbody.
When a carbody is damaged significantly in a grade
crossing accident, the train cannot be used for an extended
period of time due to the restoration of it. Aiming to achieve
early restoration of a carbody following such an accident, abasic examination was performed regarding a replaceable
impact-energy absorption structure for a carbody made ofaluminum alloy for use on conventional lines with restoration issues.
An arrangement has been proposed, as shown in Fig. 1,
to install replaceable impact-energy absorption structuresin front of the underframe (floor framing) having relatively
high strength and rigidity. As they can be attached to an
existing carbody structure, no large-scale design change
is necessary, making them practical use at a low cost. To
verify the effectiveness of this structure, a collision analysis
with a large truck (vehicle weight: 9.2 tons, without cargo)

was implemented (Fig. 2). In the case of a full-wrap collision condition with a collision speed of 54 km/h, significant
deformation was observed on the underframe, which is themain structure, for the conventional structure; whereas
maximum deformation was reduced by about 77% when
the impact-energy absorption structure was used (Fig. 3).
Figure 4 shows the maximum deformation amount of themain structure (underframe) and reduction rate of it undereach collision condition. For example, if a maximum deformation amount of 10 mm is allowable, early restorationof a carbody can be deemed possible when the collision
speeds are up to about 55 km/h for a full-wrap collision,
about 60 km/h for a half-wrap collision, and about 80 km/h
for a quarter-wrap collision, and thus, the period when the
train cannot be available can be reduced to a minimum

Fig. 1 Proposed specification of low-cost replaceable impact-energy
absorption structure

Fig. 3 Example of effect by using replaceable impact-energy
absorption structure28

Fig. 2 Analysis conditions of grade crossing
collision

Fig. 4: Maximum amount of deformation on main structure

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Railway Technical Research Institute

26. Wheel-rail rolling contact simulation to clarify
deterioration by braking• A method to analyze rolling contact between a wheel and a rail has been developed to evaluate thethermal stress and plastic deformation, which is necessary to clarify causes of deterioration such as
hollow wear and wheel flats.
• By comparative verification with braking test results, it was confirmed that the rise in wheel temperature
could be reproduced within an error of 10%.
Damages caused by the contact of a wheel with a rail
include those considered to be related to heat generationsuch as hollow wear on a wheel tread due to braking; andwheel flats generated by the slip and sliding of the wheel.
As a tool to clarify these phenomena, by extending the functions of a conventional wheel-rail rolling contact simulation
method (Fig. 1), an analysis method has been developed
to enable elasto-plasticity calculation by coupling(thermaland structural coupling) with thermal conductivity analysis
and structural analysis.
Characteristic changes in materials caused by temperature rise such as a lowering of the yield stress of awheel are incorporated in this analysis method, so thattemperature rise and consequent thermal stress andelasto-plastic deformation at the site of wheel-rail contact, as well as the change in shape due to wear, can becalculated simultaneously and in detail (Fig. 2, Fig. 3).
Comparison with the test results obtained by a braking
test device (Fig. 4) confirmed that the internal temperature
immediately under the wheel tread could be reproduced
within an error of 10% (Fig. 5).
A wheel-rail rolling contact simulation method can indicate contact conditions in detail, including the stress acting
on the wheel and the rail, position of contact, magnitude
and direction of the force, which are difficult to measure
in experiments and running tests, while also moving androlling the wheel in the simulation. By adding these thermal and structural coupling functions, the method can beutilized to clarify the phenomenon and propose measures
to counter damages generated on wheels and rails, suchas hollow wear and thermal cracks on wheels.

Fig. 1 Example of running on a curve using a 1-bogie model(indicating equivalent stress)

Fig. 2 Example of calculation of temperature and equivalentstressFig. 3 Calculation example of wheel cross section
by elasto-plastic, thermal stress and wear

Annual Report 2019-2020

Fig. 4: Braking test device

Fig. 5: Example of temperature
verification29

Major Results of Research and Development

27. C larification of growth mechanism and evolution
process of rail corrugation• It has been clarified that there are four anti-resonance phenomena governing the growth factor ofrail corrugation.
• It also has been clarified that the evolution process of rail corrugation includes formation period,
growth period and saturation period.
Rail corrugation is a phenomenon in which roughness isformed on the top surface of rail with a regular wavelength
due to the passage of vehicles, causing noise and vibrations (Fig. 1). As a remedy, rail grinding is implemented
periodically to remove surface roughness. However, since
the growth mechanism and the evolution process remain
unexplained, fundamental control measures have yet tobe established.
To ascertain the growth mechanism of this roughness, atheoretical analysis has been performed taking the dynamic
interaction of track and vehicle into consideration, leading
to the discovery that there were four kinds of growth factors
subject to the vibration characteristics of track and vehicle,
and the wheelbase (Fig. 2). By comparing the occurrenceof rail corrugation measured on commercial lines andthe result of theoretical analysis, each wavelength was
confirmed to almost agree with the theoretical value, andthe growth factor was identified (Fig. 3). The measurementof surface roughness was continued on commercial lines toshow that there existed a formation period, growth period
and saturation period in the evolution process of rail corrugation (Fig. 4). This evolution process was confirmed tobe reproducible by dynamic interaction analysis of trackand vehicle.

In the future, control measures based on the growthmechanism of rail corrugation and proper rail grinding
method based on the evolution process will be proposed.

Fig. 2 Four growth factors and their characteristics for rail
corrugation

Fig. 3: Example of verification of growth factor for rail
corrugation

Fig. 1: Example of rail corrugation generated on a curve30

Fig. 4: Evolution process of rail corrugation

Annual Report 2019-2020

Railway Technical Research Institute28. Damage process of an embankment during anearthquake• It has been clarified that the damage state of an embankment up until its collapse due to earthquake.
• By comparing the shear strain generated around the toe of an embankment and the deformation
characteristics of the embankment material, the damage to the embankment can be evaluated.
For the seismic performance assessment of an embankment, the sliding displacement is calculated assumingthat a circular sliding failure occurs. However, this method
cannot often explain the actual damage to an embankment
subject to an earthquake. Therefore, shaking table tests
were performed using centrifuge model test apparatus
to understand damage process during an earthquake indetail. The results showed that displacement accumulated
gradually due to vibration and increased rapidly from agiven displacement level as shown in Fig. 1. After that, asliding line was generated to end up with a brittle fracture(Fig. 2). The shear strain distributions inside the embankment were observed by using PIV image analysis (Fig. 2),
and it was also found that the strain accumulated from thevicinity of the toe of the slope and gradually expanded to inside the embankment. The maximum value of shear strain
inside the embankment when the displacement increased
rapidly was 9.6% around the toe of slope (Fig. 2 (3)). thisvalue agreed with the value immediately before reaching
Damage Level 3 of embankment material at which point
the strain in the embankment material increased rapidly(Fig. 3 (3)), when the damage level of the embankment was
defined using the deformation characteristics of embankment material (as shown in Fig. 3),. From the above, it
was found that when the shear strain in the vicinity of thetoe of the slope, which was the origin of the sliding line,
reached Damage Level 3 for the embankment material,
the displacement started to increase rapidly, and when
it reached Damage Level 4--which corresponded to thepeak strength for embankment material--a sliding line was
generated to occasion a brittle fracture. In this manner, thedamage process of an embankment makes it possible toexplain the actual damage sustained under an earthquake.
This finding can be utilized for detailed seismic performance evaluations for embankments, and investigations
to determine the cause after an earthquake.

Fig. 1 Accumulation of displacement and occurrence ofsliding line

Fig.3 Deformation characteristic and damage level ofembankment material((1) through (4) correspond to Fig. 2).

Fig. 2 Damaged condition inside embankment (distribution of shear strain) ((1) through (4) corresponds to Fig. 1)

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Major Results of Research and Development

29. Three-dimensional simulation method of overheadcontact lines and pantograph dynamic interaction• Three-dimensional simulation method of overhead contact lines and pantograph dynamic interaction
has been developed.
• The behavior of overhead contact lines and a pantograph in a curved section of track and a crossing
section, which were impossible to estimate previously, can now be estimated.
• The influence of cross wind and temperature change on the current collection performance can also
be evaluated.
Three-dimensional simulation method of overheadcontact lines (OCL) and pantograph dynamic interaction
has been developed, to help the development and designof OCL and pantographs as well as to investigate the causeof accidents related to OCL and pantographs. Although theactual OCL was modeled in 2D space previously, the new
method can model the OCL in 3D space as actual one andevaluate current collection performance.
With this method, it is possible to predict the dynamic
motion and the deformation of the OCL and pantograph byconstruction 3D OCL and pantograph model. It is possible
to perform simulations to reproduce the 3D behavior ofa pantograph which has some small contact strips (Fig.
1), analyze the position of the contact wire in a curved
section of track and crossing section (Fig. 2), and consider

static structure change of the OCL caused by temperaturechange (Fig. 3), which were difficult to do with the conventional method. Figure 3 shows that the contact force
decreases at Part A where the height of contact wire is
up-gradients, while it increases at Part B where the heightof contact wire is down-gradients, because the contact
wire is pulled up at the center of its span by temperaturechange. In addition, it is possible to perform two coupledsimulations, one is coupled simulation with numericalcalculation of air flow in tunnel, another is with vehicle
dynamics simulation. The former can analyze the changeof contact force of a pantograph when train enters a tunnel.
The latter can evaluate the relative position of the contact
wire and pantograph considering the inclination of theentire pantograph caused by vibration of vehicle.

Fig. 1 Example of simulation of a pantograph with somesmall contact strips

Fig. 2 Simulation result when a pantograph enters crossing
section to a main track from a side track(The height of contact wire above side track is 60 mm
higher than the one above main track)

Fig. 3 Example of simulation before/after temperature change (when the temperature decreases from 15°C to -10°C)

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News
Release
1. The 12th World Congress on Railway Research, WCRR
2019 held in October in Tokyo
The Railway Technical Research Institute will host The 12th World Congress on Railway Research,
WCRR 2019, from October 28 to November 1 this year at the Tokyo International Forum under thetheme “Railway Research to Enhance the Customer Experience”.

【12th World Congress on Railway Research, WCRR2019】
WCRR was established for the purpose of providing
an overview of the world's development of railway technologies and discussing future directions to be taken by
the railway sector. This is the world's largest international
congress on railway research, proudly unprecedented in
the sense that railway researchers and engineers gather
together with managers and executives of railway operators in one congress.
This is the second WCRR congress held in Japan following the WCRR’99 which was 20 years ago. 500 participantsfrom 30 countries and 500 from Japan are expected to join
WCRR2019.

【Theme: Railway Research to Enhance the Customer
Experience】
Although economic and social circumstances underwhich railways are doing business differ greatly from region
to region or from country to country, it is common for all
railways that their important role is to further deepen ties
among people by realizing safe and comfortable mobilityof people as well as secure and efficient transportation of
goods. Providing railway customers with quality experienceby fulfilling this role is what railway businesses should aim
to achieve and will lead to the raison d'être of railways.
In order to enhance the value of railways at the global
level, the railways need to keep providing high-quality andreasonably-priced customer services, while maintaining
high standards of safety and excellent environmental
performance. Innovation which will be brought about bytechnological breakthroughs will be indispensable, andthe role of research and development for this purpose isexactly the main agenda of the entire congress.

34【Features of WCRR2019】
WCRR congresses have covered and focused on abroader range of research fields such as human factors,
railway business management and transport economy aswell as specific railway technologies regarding vehicles,
track, overhead lines, signaling and communications,structures, train operation and environmental measures.
The features of WCRR2019 based on the policy of WCRR
are shown below.
(1) For the purpose of providing railway company executive persons and different fields of researchers andengineers the opportunity to share information, WCRR
2019 provides Plenary Sessions, Organized Sessions,an Exhibition and a variety of Social Events as well as
Oral and Interactive Poster Sessions for ordinary paper
presentations.
(2) The Plenary Sessions will take the form of panel discussion (Table 1). Having an eye on the optimum form of
future railway systems, each participant will discuss
the direction that railway research and development is
to take, technical fields to be focused on and desirable
way of international cooperation from each point of view.
Through these discussions, WCRR aims to highlight theroles of railway research and development to explore
the theme of this congress, enhancing the customer
experience.
(3) Organized Sessions will be prepared for specific topics
attracting a high level of interest in many countries. At
the Organized Sessions, in-depth discussions will bemade under the leadership of chairpersons who areleading experts of each field. Interdisciplinary topics
such as “horizon scanning” and “global certification”
have been chosen as well as the state-of-the-art

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hot-topic technologies including “autonomous driving”
and “preventive maintenance with digital technologies”.
(4) Interactive Poster Sessions combining short presentations and poster presentations will be provided asopportunities for effective publishing and active information sharing by paper authors.
(5) Due to the surging interest in the application of digitaltechnologies to railway maintenance, 51 papers dealing
with condition-based maintenance (CBM) have been
accepted for WCRR 2019. To accommodate these presentations, one Organized Session and 6 Oral Sessions
have been prepared for the topic of CBM.

4. Congress period: October 28 - November 1, 2019
5. Sessions and events:•Plenary Session
3 Plenary Sessions of panel-discussion style will be
provided as described in Table 1.
•Paper presentations
Total 361 paper presentations
10 Organized Sessions (Table 2, 43 presentations)40 Oral Sessions (170 presentations)
20 Interactive Poster Sessions (148 presentations)•Technical Visits: 11 courses•
E xhibition: technical exhibition by sponsoring
companies
6. 
Venue: Tokyo International Forum (Marunouchi,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)(6) WCRR 2019 will be providing 11 Technical Visit courses
covering a wide variety of fields including vehicles,
facilities, operation and human development. Thanks
to the cooperation by JR companies, Japan Railway
Construction, Transport and Technology Agency, Tokyo
Metro and other railway-related companies, thesecourses will provide participants good opportunities
to see the technologies that support the high levelof safety, efficiency, convenience and environmental
performance of Japanese railways.

【Outline of the congress】
1. Host: Railway Technical Research Institute
2. Special supporting organizations
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Tokyo Metropolitan Government
3. Supporting organizations:Embassy of Italy in Japan, British Embassy Tokyo,
German Embassy Tokyo, Embassy of France in Japan,
Austrian Embassy Tokyo, Embassy of the People's
Republic of China in Japan
Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan (IEEJ),
Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME),
Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE), Japan
Railway Technical Services (JARTS), Société FrancoJaponaise des Techniques Industrielles (SFJTI),
Japan Railway Engineers Association (JREA), Japan
Overseas Railway System Association (JORSA), Japan
Association of Rolling Stock Industries (JARi), Japan
Subway Association, Japan Private Railway Association

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News Release

Table 1: Plenary Sessions

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Table 2: Organized Sessions

WCRR 2019 Official Website
http://wcrr2019.org/
Contact: wcrr2019@issjp.com

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News Release

2. Superconducting Feeder Cable System Tested on
600V-DC-Powered Commercial Service Tracks
The Railway Technical Research Institute has been developing the superconducting feeder cablesystem. Most recently, RTRI conducted a shut-off test and power feeding test on 600V-DC-poweredcommercial lines for the first time in the world. These tests were implemented in cooperation with the
Bureau of Transportation of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd., in order tocheck whether this system can be applied to commercial service operation.

Tokyo Sakura Tram

Nakano Maintenance Depot

Figure 1: Superconducting feeder cable system used for the tests【Results of shut-off tests】
In the shut-off test, the superconducting feeder cablesystem is parallely connected to the regular power feeding
circuit of a tram line powered with 600V DC and is shut off
while a test train is running. With this test, it is confirmedthat the train keeps running, being powered by the regularfeeding circuit, even after the superconducting system isshut off.
A 30-meter-long superconducting cable was placed next
to a substation of the Tokyo Sakura Tram, a light rail line
operated by the Bureau of Transportation of the Tokyo
Metropolitan Government. It was cooled to cryogenic
and superconducting condition with liquid nitrogen andparallelly connected to the 600V DC regular power feeding
circuit of the tram line (Figure 1, left).

38

A single tramvehicle ran and accelerated on the section
between two stops on the Sakura Tram line and, during
the accelerated running, the superconducting feeder cablesystem was shut off from the regular circuit by a breaker.
At the instant of shut-off, the current flowing through thesuperconducting cable flowed through the regular circuit(Figure 2) and the test train was able to continue acceleration, powered by the regular circuit, even after the shut-off.
This result has confirmed that, when a trouble occurs to
the superconducting cable system, trains can keep runningby switching the feeding system from superconducting toregular one.

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Figure 2: System layout of shut-off test and the results【Results of power feeding tests】
This test is conducted to confirm that the superconducting feeder cable system can transmit the power toaccelerate trains on a 600V DC-powered railway line andtransmit regenerated current created in braking.
In this test, the 55-meter superconducting feeder cable
was set at the Nakano Maintenance Depot of Tokyo Metro
Marunouchi Line, cooled to cryogenic and superconducting
condition with liquid nitrogen, and then parallelly connectedto the 600V DC regular feeding circuit of the tram line
(Figure 1, right, Figure 3). The cable was placed just below
the rail, a space that suffers a lot of shaking by runningtrains.

(a) Current flow in acceleration

Then, a 6-vehicle test trainset of Marunouchi Line ran
between Honancho and Nakano-Sakaue stations and it
was confirmed that, during the acceleration, maximum
1881A current flowed through this system and when brake
was applied, regenerated power was transmitted throughthe superconducting cable to a train standing in the Nakano
Depot. (Figure 3 and 4) The maximum 1800A current is thelargest one that flowed through this cable while an actual
vehicle is running. The vibration caused by train running
did not damage the superconducting state of this system.

(b) Current flow in braking

Figure 3: System layout of power feeding test and flow of current

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News Release

Figure 4: Results of power feeding test

RTRI will continue to address the issues to be cleared
to use this system in commercial services by further
implementing feeding tests to verify whether it is able
to transmit electricity over the distance between actual
substations (several kilometers).

a project of the New Energy and Industrial Technology
Development Organization and of “the Program to
Create Future Society “ by JST.

◇ Part of this project has been implemented as“the Program to Promote Strategic Innovation” by theJapan Science and Technology Agency (JST). The
development of superconducting feeder cable has
been supported by the subsidy of the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and carried out as

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3. RTRI Develops a Seismic Retrofitting Method for the
Suspended Ceilings with Shorter Hanging-Distance
The Railway Technical Research Institute has developed a seismic retrofitting method for suspended ceilings withshorter hanging-disrtance. This method has been adopted by JR West to retrofit its station buildings.
【Main characteristics】
RTRI has developed a seismic retrofitting method thatcan be applied to the suspended ceilings with a smaller
ceiling cavity that allows only a short hanging distance.
That type of ceilings are frequently seen in the station facilities constructed beneath viaduct with rather lower heights.

The key point of this retrofitting method is to pass thehanging bolt through a steel pipe (square pipe) of standard
product and to press the pipe up against the viaduct witha nut at the ceiling side end (Fig. 1). This method has thefollowing advantages.

● Antiseismic performance can be improved while sufficient space for passing plumbing and other pipes etc.
is secured.
● As this method makes the construction work easier anduses pipes of standard product, the cost is less than halfthat of the existing retrofitting method for short-hangingdistance ceilings.

Figure 1: Ceiling retrofitted with steel pipe

【Process of development】
Since train station buildings are accessed by a large
number of people, seismic safety must be secured sothat the suspended ceilings will not collapse when an
earthquake occurs. In the case of seismic retrofitting
for ordinary suspended ceilings with 500 to 1500 mm
hanging distance, seismic braces can be mounted tobear horizontal load acting on the ceilings at the timeof an earthquake (Fig. 2).
However, the brace can only be mounted when its
angle shown in figures 2 and 3 falls within the range
between 30 to 60 degrees. If the hanging distance

Figure 2: Seismic reinforcement with brace

Annual Report 2019-2020

is not long enough as is the case for station facilities
beneath lower viaduct, the angle will be smaller than
30 degrees and the braces cannot be mounted. In suchcases, another seismic measures will be required also
because braces occupy the ceiling cavity necessary
for passing plumbing and other pipes etc.. Meanwhile,another alternative is to fix the ceiling to the viaductusing channel steel (Fig. 3). However, the construction work of this method is hard and expensive. That is
why we have developed this method that enables lessexpensive retrofitting while leaving sufficient under-roof
space (Fig. 4).

Figure 3: Seismic reinforcement with channel steel(Existing construction method for short-hanging-distance ceilings)

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News Release

Figure 4: Retrofitting with steel pipe

Figure 5: Resisting force against seismic force【Outline of the method】
In this retrofitting work (Fig. 1 and 4), the horizontal
load acting on the ceiling in an earthquake is borneby the force pressing the steel pipe up against thestructure (Fig. 5).

consideration of the natural period of the suspended
ceiling. In this testing, it was confirmed that the retrofitted ceiling attained necessary seismic performanceand its horizontal load did not diminish under the
repeated loading that exceeds the maximum design
load (Fig. 6). From this result, we have concluded
that this method can be applied to retrofitting work
for suspended ceilings with short hanging distance(distance: shorter than 450 mm, angle: smaller than
30 degrees).

We implemented structural testing according to“the Technical Standards Concerning Measures toPrevent the Collapse of Ceilings in Buildings” using
a real-size test specimen. The steel square pipes oftest specimen are 25 mm-wide and 1.6 mm-thick in【The station retrofitted with this method】
The suspended ceiling of bathrooms in Osaka
station building was retrofitted with this method andit contributed to cost reduction (Fig. 1)【Patent filing】
RTRI has applied for a patent regarding part ofthis method jointly with Kirii Construction Materials
Co., Ltd.

Figure 6: Result of structural testing42

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4. Superconducting Feeder Cable System- Running Test Conducted on 1500 V DC Chuo Line The Railway Technical Research Institute has been developing the superconducting feeder cablesystem. Most recently, RTRI conducted a power feeding and shut-off test in cooperation with the East
Japan Railway Company in order to apply the system to commercial service operation. The system wasconnected to the regular catenary system of the Chuo Line (1500V DC) and the tests were implemented
while a test train was running on the track.

Figure 1: Superconducting feeder cable system at Hino Civil Engineering Testing Station【Result of power feeding tests】
The purpose of this test is to confirm that the superconducting feeder cable system can transmit both thepower to accelerate trains and the regenerated power
created in braking (reverse-direction current) on a 1500V
DC-powered railway line.
The superconducting feeder cable system (408m cable)
placed in the Hino Civil Engineering Testing Station wascooled to cryogenic and superconducting condition withliquid nitrogen, and parallelly connected to the regularfeeding circuit of Chuo line (Figure 1). Then, a test train(Series E233, 10-vehicle) ran on the line powered by thesystem, and at the Toyoda train depot, 10 test trainsets(Series E233, 10-vehicle) were powered by the regenerated current for lighting and air-conditioning.
Through this test, it was confirmed that up to 2200A orlarger current flowed from the substation to the test train
through this system while the train was being accelerated.
Meanwhile, when brake was applied, regenerated power
was transmitted in the reverse direction through the system
to the trains standing in the Toyoda depot (Figure 2). The

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maximum amount of the current, 2258A, is the largest thatflowed through this cable while an actual vehicle is running.
Furthermore, it was confirmed that the test train was able
to pass the section without any troubles.
【Result of shut-off tests】
In the shut-off test, the superconducting feeder cablesystem is parallely connected to the regular power feeding
circuit of a 1500V-DC-powered railway track and is shut
off while a test train is running. The test confirms that,even after the superconducting system is shut off, thetrain is able to keep running, being powered by the regularfeeding circuit.
As in the power-feeding test, the system under superconducting state was parallelly connected to the regularcatenary system of the Chuo line (Figure 1) and the test
train (Series-E233, 10-vehicle) ran on the track.

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News Release

After the superconducting system was shut off from theregular circuit by a breaker during the acceleration, all thecurrent flowing through the system was turned into theregular circuit (Figure 3, top) and the test train was able
to continue acceleration, powered by the regular circuit(Figure 3, bottom).

by switching from superconducting to regular system. In
addition, the voltage dropped 25V after the shut-off, while it
was almost zero before shut-off. That result has confirmed
the effect of the system to reduce the electrical resistanceto zero (Figure 3, middle).

This result has confirmed that, even if a trouble occurs to
the superconducting cable system, trains can keep running

Figure 2: Result of power feeding test

Figure 3: Result of shut-off test

* Since the cable connecting superconducting and regular feeder cable has
electrical resistance, part of the current flowed through regular feeder cable.

RTRI will develop a system that accommodate thedistances between actual substations (several kilometers
or longer) and continue to address the issues to be cleared

before introducing the superconducting cable to commercial services.

◇ The development of the superconducting feeder cables has been implemented as “the Program to Promote Strategic
Innovation” and “the Program to Create Future Society “ by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) andsupported by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

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5. A New Fuel Cell Hybrid Test Vehicle Completed- Compact and High-Performance RTRI has been developing a next-generation train, fuel cell hybrid train which uses hydrogen energy
in order to save fossil energy and reduce the environmental footprint, and has completed a test vehicle
that is close to practical use. Considering the deployment to many commercial-service lines, this vehicle
has allowed a larger cabin space by reducing the size of the on-board apparatus and improving its
performance and has boosted its traction power output and startup acceleration.
【Major characteristics】•50% increase in the power output of the fuel cell and
20% decrease in the volume per output by raising power
density and dispersedly locating the cooling apparatus.
•The volume of the power converter for fuel cell has been
reduced 45% by adopting silicon carbide element andcompact circuit breaker.
With these advantages, this test vehicle will speed up
future introduction of fuel cell vehicles by railway operators.
【Previous test vehicle】
Since the Paris Agreement took effect, further reductionof greenhouse gas has been required. RTRI has beendeveloping a fuel cell railway vehicle that will be able
to reduce greenhouse gas emission by replacing diesel
engine vehicles powered by fossil fuel. Since 2008, we
have conducted running tests on our test track using afuel-cell-battery hybrid test vehicle and confirmed its basic
performance. However, the vehicle in that stage had larger
onboard devices and some of them were laid in the cabin,
and its acceleration performance remained at the samelevel as diesel cars.
【Outline of the new test vehicle】
Figure 1 and 3 show the test vehicle and its cabin. The
layout of devices and vehicle performance are shown in
Figure 2 and Table 1 respectively.
【Development for the next phase】
By continuing the running tests on RTRI’s test track, wewill improve the controlling method for the hybrid system inorder to raise the energy efficiency and develop a method
to reduce the load to fuel cell.

◇ Part of this development has been implemented with the subsidy for railway technical development by the Ministryof Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Figure 1 New test train

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News Release

Figure 2 Layout of devices

Figure 3 New cabin without devices

Table 1 Test train performance46

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6. Tree-Planting Ceremony Celebrating the 60th Anniversaryof Moving RTRI Head Office and Main Facilities toKunitachi
Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of moving to Kunitachi, the board members of RTRI and its affiliatedcompanies planted a cherry tree on October 16, 2019.
Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of moving to Kunitachi,
the board members of RTRI and its affiliated companies
planted a cherry tree on October 16, 2019.
In 1959, 60 years ago, Railway Technical ResearchInstitute, the then in-house research wing of the Japanese
National Railways, moved from Hamamatsucho to
Kunitachi. President Shinji Sogo and Vice President
Engineering Hideo Shima of JNR and about 200 concerned

people celebrated the opening of the main building of
RTRI at Kunitachi on October 16, 1959. 60 years later, on
October 16 this year, RTRI’s Chairman Eisuke Masada andPresident Norimichi Kumagai planted a commemorative
cherry tree in the front yard of RTRI at Kunitachi. The
commemorative photo exhibition was held as well until
November 1 this year at the entrance hall of RTRI’s mainbuilding.

Chairman Masada and President Kumagai planting acherry tree

Inscription

Participants of the ceremony

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News Release【Greetings by President Kumagai】
It has been 60 years since RTRI moved to Kunitachi.
At the time of moving, the opening ceremony was heldwith around 200 persons including President Sogo, Vice
President Engineering Shima, Director Oishi and thepeople who were involved in the construction work. After
60 years since the ceremony, we would like to renew ourperception of what was expected of RTRI in those days
and what RTRI has accomplished. This is just a small
ceremony, but we would like to recharge and revitalize
ourselves on this occasion.
When RTRI moved to Kunitachi, the then President
Sogo stressed the value of an in-house research instituteand said that railways were standing at a crossroad ofcontributing to economy, or fading into history, and thatthe most important thing for a research institute is humanresource and the cooperation among employees.

what we have now has been achieved and accumulated
by our predecessors. Since RTRI made a restart as anindependent institute 32 years ago, we have generated
significant research outcomes in broad-ranging fields
including the development of superconducting Maglev
train systems, speed increase and seismic measures. We
will keep our motivation to continue the research and toachieve sustainable development for the next 60 years.
Over these years, we have discussed what railways
should be in the future. We should pursue even higher levelof safety and achieve this goal with digitalization technologies. Now we have original, large-scale test facilities andadvanced computer simulation techniques that did notexist 60 years ago and have accumulated a vast amountof test data. Hoping to make use of these resources andcapabilities of RTRI in the technical innovation of railways,
I am planting this commemorative cherry tree.

After 60 years, we have to ask ourselves whether we still
have maintained the DNA, the tradition. I can say yes, but

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7. The Basic Running Performance Demonstration of the Fuel
Cell Hybrid Powered Test Railway Vehicle
RTRI has been developing the fuel cell hybrid powered test railway vehicle uses hydrogen energy inorder to save fossil energy and reduce the environmental footprint as a next-generation railway vehicle.
We carried out the basic running tests with the test vehicle that was introduced in RTRI’s news release
dated August 28, 2019 (*) and demonstrated its basic running performance.
(*) News Release dated August 28 (https://www.rtri.or.jp/eng/press/is5f1i000000c68o-att/201905.pdf)【Specification of the test railway vehicle】
RTRI has been developing a fuel cell hybrid powered
test railway vehicle. The vehicle contributes to reduce thegreenhouse gas emission by replacing fossil-fuel-powered
diesel multiple unit.

the running performance comparable with electric multiple
unit (EMU) and allowed larger cabin space by improving
the performance and reducing the size of the fuel cell andpower converters. The major specifications of the test
vehicle are shown in Table 1:

The fuel cell hybrid powered test railway vehicle thatwas completed in August this year (Fig. 1) has attained
Table 1: The major specification of the test railway vehicle【Outline and results of the basic running performancetest】
RTRI carried out the basic running tests on the test
track at RTRI with the maximum speed of 45km/h anddemonstrated the basic running performance of the test
vehicle with fuel cell and battery hybrid system as follows.
•The test vehicle can attain the startup acceleration of
2.5km/h/s. This is comparable to EMU and has been
attained by improving the power output of the fuel cell, etc.
•The test vehicle is driven by the fuel cell and battery hybrid
power supply, and:(a) In acceleration, the motor is driven by the hybrid power

Annual Report 2019-2020of fuel cell and battery.
(b) In deceleration, the battery is charged by regenerative
power and fuel cell power.
(c) While coasting and standing, the battery is charged by
the fuel cell power.(Fig. 2)
Using these power modes, the state of charge of thebattery (SOC) can be maintained at the same SOC before
and after the running. (Fig. 3)•The two fuel cells charge the battery and the fuel cell
output was up to 139kW so far. (Fig. 4)

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News Release【Further improvement and development】
Through the running tests on RTRI’s test track, we will
enhance the energy efficiency by improving the methodof controlling the hybrid system and develop a controlling
method to reduce the fuel cell output fluctuations.

◇ Part of this development has been implemented with thesubsidy for railway technical development by the Ministryof Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Fig.1: Fuel cell hybrid powered test railway vehicle

Fig.2: Power flow of the fuel cell-battery hybrid system

Fig.3: Results of basic running performance test

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Fig.4: Results of dual fuel cells operation test (in charging battery)

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8. RTRI Hosts WCRR 2019
The Railway Technical Research Institute held the 12th World Congress on Railway Research, WCRR
2019 from October 28 to November 1 this year at the Tokyo International Forum under the theme“Railway Research to Enhance the Customer Experience”.
WCRR is an international congress organized by
the WCRR Organizing Committee composed of Union
International des Chemins de fer (UIC), Société Nationale
des Chemins de fer Français (SNCF), Deutsche Bahn
AG (DB AG), Trenitalia, Rail Safety and Standards Board(RSSB), Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI)and RTRI.
WCRR 2019, the 12th congress of WCRR, was held
for the second time in Japan, 20 years since 1999. Total
993 people, 424 from 37 countries and 569 from Japan,
participated in the congress. Under the congress theme“Railway Research to Enhance the Customer Experience”,
three plenary sessions, 10 organized sessions, and 60 oral
and interactive poster sessions covering eight research
fields were provided. In particular, the organized sessions
were included in the congress program for the first time.
They are intended to encourage in-depth discussions
on the world’s hottest topics and characterized by theunity among presentation topics and flexible styles ofpresentations. 44 presentations (10 from Japan) weremade at the organized sessions under the leadership ofthe chairpersons who are outstanding experts in eachfield. At the oral and interactive poster sessions, 167 oralpresentations (44 from Japan) and 142 (59 from Japan)
interactive poster presentations were made. Each session
theme is as follows:① Plenary sessions
1. The Role of Railway Operators in Enhancing theCustomer Experience
2. Contribution of Railway Suppliers to Elevating theValue of Railways
3. Research and Development for Future Railways② Organized sessions• Horizon Scanning for the Railways: An International
Collaboration Perspective• Decision-Aid for Real-Time Railway Operation Control• Autonomous Trains on Main Lines• Global Certification for Innovative ProductDevelopment

Annual Report 2019-2020• On-Board Monitoring for Vehicle/Infrastructure
Diagnostics and CBM• Integration of On-Board and Wayside Measurementswith Virtual Methods Towards Safer, More CostEffective, Risk-Conscious and Innovation-Spurring
Assessment Methods for Running-Dynamics• Digital Technologies for Predictive Maintenance• Maglev Systems• Global Vision for Railway Development• From Research to Benefits: How to Accelerate theInnovation Process③ Oral and interactive poster sessions• Improvement of Service Quality, Speed, Time to
Destination, and Functionality• Economics, Policy and Planning• Sustainability• Safety and Natural Hazard Management• Rolling Stock• Infrastructure• Railway System Interface• Maglev and New Transport Systems
An exhibition on railway technologies was also held.
126 companies and organizations supported WCRR
2019 as sponsors.

【Congress schedule and outline】
October 28
WCRR 2019 was started with the welcome reception
October 29
Opening remarks
Dr. Ikuo Watanabe, Chair of WCRR OGC
Welcome by RTRI
Dr. Norimichi Kumagai, Pesident of RTRI
Greetings
	Mr. Nobuhide Minorikawa, State Minister of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
	Mr. Takashi Nakajima, Director, Bureau of Urban
Development, Tokyo Metropolitan

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News Release	Prof. Gianluigi Castelli, Chairman of UIC,
Chairman of FS Group
Plenary session 1:
The Role of Railway Operators in Enhancing theCustomer Experience(Moderator: Professor Anson Jack, University ofBirmingham)
From Japan, Mr. Masaki Ogata, Vice Chairman of
JR East and Mr. Shun-ichi Kosuge, Executive Vice
President of JR Central joined the discussion.
Mr. Ogata talked about “MaaS” (Mobility as a Service)system that JR East is building and pointed out open
innovation, collaboration among operators and the firstand last mile solution as the three key factors to realize“MaaS”. Mr. Ogata also encouraged the researchers
attending to have a vision for the future when starting adevelopment project.
Mr. Kosuge introduced the technical achievement by
the mass high-speed transportation system, Shinkansen,
and explained the progress in the construction of thesuperconducting Maglev line. He also stressed thenecessity of more advanced and efficient operation andmaintenance systems for the future.
October 30
Plenary session 2:
Contribution of Railway Suppliers to Elevating theValue of Railways(Moderator: Mr. Nick Kingsley, Managing Editor ofRailway Gazette International)
From Japan, Mr. Takao Nishiyama, President of theJapan Transport Engineering Company (J-TREC) joined
the discussion.
Mr. Nishiyama said that, at J-TREC, the life-cycle costhas been reduced by thoroughly sharing platforms andthe technologies and know-how of their parent company,
JR East, have been integrated into their production
systems. He referred as well to the importance of
keeping good relationships with affiliated companies.
Gala dinner
About 800 people attended the gala dinner in theevening, where Mr. Kazuyosi Akaba, Minister of theLand, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Dr. Eisuke
Masada, Chairman of RTRI and other guests gave
welcome greetings.

52

October 31
Plenary session 3:
Research and Development for Future Railways(Moderator: Emeritus Professor Roderick Smith,
Imperial College London)
From Japan, President Kumagai of RTRI joined thediscussion and stated the following views:•Digital technologies contributing to corporate profits
are important.
•It is necessary to ensure sufficient research anddevelopment budget and produce quality outcomes.
•The development of condition-based maintenancetechnologies is a high-priority task for utilizing aging
railway asset.
•We need to contribute to the society, having
awareness that railways are a key player in the entire
mobility.
Closing ceremony
The best paper awards and the young researcher
award were given to an outstanding paper in eachfield. From among Japanese researchers, Mr. Hiroyuki
Nakajima of JR East and Mr. Hirotake Noguchi of Tokyo
Metro won the awards in the fields “Rolling Stock,
Maglev and New Transport Systems” and “Infrastructure”
respectively.
November 1
Technical visits
Eleven courses of technical visits to railway related
facilities and construction sites were provided andthe participants joined a tour of their preference. The
technical visits included two courses to see the facilities
of RTRI, one to visit RTRI and Railway Information
Systems Co., Ltd. in Kunitachi and the other to RTRI’s
Wind Tunnel Technical Center in Maibara and the Kyoto
Railway Museum. 53 and 26 people joined the tours
respectively.
【Next WCRR】
The next WCRR will be held in Birmingham, UK,
in June 2022. At the closing ceremony, WCRR 2019
Organizing Committee Chairperson, Executive Vice
President Watanabe of RTRI handed over the WCRR
plaque to the next chairperson Ms. Luisa Moisio of
RSSB, UK, and Professor Anson Jack of University ofBirmingham.

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Railway Technical Research Institute

Minister of the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Mr Kazuyoshi Akaba at the gala dinnerState Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Mr. Nobuhide Minorikawa
at the opening ceremony

UIC Chairman Prof. Gianluigi Castelli at the opening ceremony

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53

News Release

54

Professor Anson Jack of University of Birmingham
moderating the Plenary Session 1

Vice Chairman of JR East Mr. Masaki Ogata
at Plenary Session 1

Executive Vice President of JR Central Mr. Shun-ichi
Kosuge at Plenary Session 1

Managing Editor of Railway Gazette International Mr.
Nick Kingsley moderating the Plenary Session 2

J-TREC President Mr. Takao Nishiyama
at the Plenary Session 2

Emeritus Prof. Roderick Smith of Imperial College
London moderating the Plenary Session 3

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Railway Technical Research Institute

RTRI President Mr. Norimichi Kumagai
at Plenary Session 3

Organized Session

Oral Session

Interactive Poster Session

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55

News Release

Exhibition with 126 domestic and overseas exhibitors

Exhibition booth by 8 JR group companies

Exhibition booth by JR East

Exhibition booth by 8 JR group companies

Exhibition booth by JR East

Technical visits

Participants on board the fuel cell hybrid powered test
vehicle at RTRI

56

Participants listening to the explanation of the railway
seat reservation system “MARS” at JR Systems

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Railway Technical Research InstituteClosing Ceremony

Dr. Matthias Landgraf of Graz University of Technology(left) wins the best paper award

WCRR 2019 Organizing Committee Chair Watanabedelivers closing remarks

WCRR2019 Organizing and Executive Committee members

WCRR 2019 Organizing Committee Chair Watanabehands over the WCRR plaque to the representatives of UK, the host country of WCRR2022

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57

News Release

9. The New Master Plan “RESEARCH 2025” Developed
The Railway Technical Research Institute developed a new master plan “RESEARCH 2025” for the five
years starting 2020 as a concrete plan to fulfill RTRI’s vision “We will develop innovative technologies
to enhance the rail mode so that railways can contribute to the creation of a happier society”.
Master Plan - Research and Development Creating the
Future of Railways - RESEARCH 2025
1. Introduction
We are facing increasingly complicated social issues
including the global environmental problems, social impactof the aging population, and regional disparity of economy.
Under such circumstances, “Sustainable Development
Goals” (SDGs) were adopted by the United Nations in2015. The Japanese government also proposed “Society
5.0” and the government has been addressing the goalof realizing a sustainable society where issues will besolved with state-of-the-art technologies and all the people
can enjoy the benefit. Internet of Things (IoT), big data
analysis and artificial intelligence (AI) have been enabledby the rapid advancement of computing technologies andhigh-speed, large-capacity communications technologies
and they have been pushing forward the global-scaleinnovation toward digitalized society.
Since the Japanese economy is gradually recovering,
the traffic volume of Japanese railways has been steadily
increasing with an increasing number of inbound tourists.
However, there is a concern that the number of railway
users will decline in a longer term, due to declining total andproductive-age population resulting from the decreasing
number of children and aging population and diversified
working patterns. Furthermore, railways are facing anurgent need to provide more effective solutions to the issuesof extreme weather events, aging railway infrastructure andlabor shortages. In addition, railways are expected to play
an increasingly important role in creating the services thatconnect different transport modes seamlessly.
Railway researchers and engineers have been seeking
to change railway systems drastically in order to address
a number of issues by using digital technologies. It is also
important that several organizations cooperate and share
information to solve increasingly complicated technicalissues.
Against such a background, RTRI developed a new58

master plan “RESEARCH 2025” for the five years starting2020 as a concrete plan to fulfill RTRI’s vision. We need tolook into the railway technologies in the decades ahead. At
the same time, we are expected to provide the society withtimely R&D outcomes that will be befitting the changing
business environment and developing technologies.
Therefore, the term of this master plan has been set to be
5 years until the fiscal year 2024.
2. Basic policies
Under the changing social and technological conditions,
we will emphasize improving further safety of railways
and enhancing resilience to extreme and frequent natural
disasters. We will introduce digital technologies into all
fields of research and development and innovate railway
systems. We will produce high-quality research outcomesby pursuing excellence across all fields of activities andenhancing the global presence of Japanese railway
technologies to promote further overseas development.
The following are basic policies of RTRI’s activities.
(1) Enhancing safety with an emphasis on improving
resilience to natural disasters
Research and development to further improve safety
and stability of railway transport is essential. In particular,
RTRI will be focusing on the research and development
to enhance resilience to increasingly serious and frequent
natural disasters such as heavy rainfall, strong wind andmajor earthquakes. We will also intensify the researchand development to prevent failures of ground facilities
and vehicles and to address aging of these facilities.
We will conduct disasters and accidents investigations
and propose restoration and prevention measures as animpartial third-party organization.
(2) Developing innovative railway systems based on
digital technologies
RTRI will emphasize the research and development
to introduce to railways digital technologies including IoTtechnology, big data analysis and AI combining advanced
information processing and high-speed telecommunications
network such as 5G. With the digitalization, we will develop

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Railway Technical Research Institutelabor-saving technologies such as autonomous train
operation and digitalized maintenance in order to solve thelabor shortage in railway operation. We will also promoteresearch and development for the speed-increase on
Shinkansen that will not damage the trackside environment
and energy-saving railway operation. In addition, RTRI
will start an endeavor to create new customer services
such as MaaS (mobility as a service) and contribute to theinnovation of railway systems.
(3) C reating high-quality research outcomes by
pursuing excellence across all fields of activities
RTRI will continue the research and development for
railways in the future, practical technologies to be quickly
introduced to railway operation and basic research toanalyze the phenomena specific to railways. We will further
improve our simulation technologies and construct test andresearch facilities with originality. At the same time, we willcontinue to gather the know-how on railway technologies,
develop human resources, address the issues on railways
with cross-sectional teams and build trust through creating
and providing high-quality research outcomes at home
and abroad.
(4) Enhancing international presence of the Japanese
railway technologies
We will seek to enhance international presence of theJapanese railway technologies through cooperation withoverseas railway operators and research organizations andintensified information sharing. We will play a leading rolein the strategic activities of international standardization
to support overseas advancement of Japanese railways.
(5) Creating a work environment to help the employees
develop their full potential and undertake
challenging tasks
Respecting each of our personnel, we will develop
researchers who are able to address the needs of railway
operators and produce creative research outcomes froma global perspective. We will continue to improve safety
and hygiene at workplace, pay attention to the mental
health and work-life-balance of employees and provide a
comfortable and open work environment where employees
can be relaxed and proud of their work.
3. Activities of RTRI
RTRI will implement the following eight fields of activities
for public-interest purposes:
・Research and development
・Investigation

Annual Report 2019-2020

・Technical Standard Services
・Information services
・Publishing and Training
・Diagnosis and Consulting
・International Standardization
・Qualifications
RTRI will also strategically and systematically promote
the activities of the Railway Technology Promotion Center
and Railway International Standards Center in coordination
with rail-related engineers in other organizations andcontribute to enhancing international presence of Japanese
railway technologies. In addition, we will implement profitmaking activities to promote the wide use of R&D resultsby railway companies.
【Research and development】(1) Principles for research and development① Enhancing safety with an emphasis on improving
resilience to natural disasters
RTRI will focus on R&D to enhance safety. In particular,
we will develop a system to evaluate the risks of natural
disasters in real time and to support quick train operation
control to ensure safety and early recovery by utilizing theweather and earthquake data measured by the advanced,
high-density observation network of a public institution andour simulation technologies.
② Developing innovative railway systems based on digitaltechnologies
RTRI will gather basic knowledge and knowhow on
advanced information processing technologies and highspeed telecommunications network and send researchers
to research organizations dedicated to each field on along- and short-term basis. Through these efforts, wewill develop research capability to fully utilize the mostadvanced digital technologies. We will outsource theresearch work that requires use of AI technologies.
③ Creating high-quality research outcomes by pursuing
excellence across all fields of activities
RTRI will address basic research and development thatwill solve railway-specific issues and will be the source ofinnovative technologies and, at the same time, intensify thedevelopment of practical technologies having strong impact
on actual railway operation. In particular, RTRI will increase
the resource to be appropriated for the development ofmuch-needed practical technologies.
RTRI will further strengthen collaborative relationships
with universities, research institutes and companies at

59News Releasehome and abroad and address railway technical issues
with multidisciplinary approaches. RTRI will keep
effectively providing quality research outcomes by using
newly-constructed large-scale test facilities and further
construct facilities with originality directly contributing toresearch and development.
(2) Goals and pillars of research and development
RTRI has set the following four goals of research anddevelopment:“Improvement of safety” such as enhancing theresilience to natural disasters“Cost reduction” such as labor saving in maintenance“Harmony with the environment” such as low-carbon
power feeding networks“Improvement of convenience” such as further speed
increase

The following six research targets have been set:
・Enhancing resilience to extreme weather disasters
・Autonomous train operation
・Labor saving by digital maintenance・Low-carbon power feeding networks by coordinatedpower control
・Speed increase on Shinkansen considering tracksideenvironment
・Improving simulation technologies(4) Research and development of technology forpractical use
RTRI will develop technologies quickly effective
for actual railway operation in order to provide railway
companies with practical and timely solutions.

Three pillars of research and development, “Researchand development toward the future of railways”, “Researchand development of technology for practical use” and“Basic research for railways” have also been set in orderto promote research and development effectively withefficient use of the resource.
(3) Research and development toward the future ofrailways
Aiming at introduction to commercial services withina few decades, RTRI will address the research topics
needed by the society and railway operators. In particular,
RTRI will put emphasis on the issues in the fields where
RTRI has outstanding research capabilities and uniquetest facilities and the topics that require multidisciplinary
approaches.

60(5) Basic research for railways
RTRI will intensify basic research and development thatwill solve railway-specific issues and will be the source ofinnovative technologies. The topics for the basic research
will be prediction of weather disasters, running stabilityof vehicles and improvement of trackside environment in
the area of “Analysis and prediction of phenomena”, themechanism and inspection methods for deterioration anddamage and human factors in “Building analysis, tests andassessment methods”, and wear and service life extension
and AI in “Introduction of new technologies, materials andresearch methods”.
[International standards activities]
RTRI will strategically promote international
standardization for railways in order to maintain andimprove Japanese railway technologies and to support
their advancement into overseas markets.
As a Japanese mirror committee of ISO (International
Organization for Standardization) and IEC (International
Electrotechnical Commission), RTRI will propose draft
railway standards from Japan and take the lead in

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Railway Technical Research Institutereflecting Japanese design policy and technologies inthe standards proposed by other countries. At the sametime, RTRI will conduct research into the standardization
activities by internationally influential railway-relatedorganizations and take necessary actions. Together withrelated organizations, RTRI will also address the otherissues regarding standardization which the Japanese
railway sector is currently facing, including codifying
Japanese technologies and knowhow and examining thecertification scheme.
[International activities]
In order to enhance its technical capabilities and global
presence, RTRI will expand joint research activities withoverseas universities and research bodies, increase
the number of researchers who will be sent abroad andimprove the quality and quantity of the information that
RTRI will globally share. RTRI will also boost the speed
and quality of its research activities through intensifying
investigations of the latest overseas research trends andaccepting a larger number of visiting researchers fromoverseas. RTRI will continue its contribution to developing
Japanese railway technologies to overseas markets. For
this purpose, RTRI will support railway operators andrelated companies to advance into overseas markets,
help their human development and promote overseas
development of RTRI’s technologies.
4. Management of RTRI
Observing Japanese laws and regulations and its
articles of incorporation as a public-interest corporation,
RTRI will seek sound and fair management.
[Compliance with laws, rules and ethical codes andconcepts]
RTRI will provide educational programs and on-thejob training regularly in order to raise the employees’
awareness of work ethics and to ensure their compliancewith laws, rules and ethical codes and concepts.
[Information control]
RTRI will strictly control the research and development
information and others and implement more strict security
measures for information management and sharing.
[Personnel management](1) Recruitment
RTRI needs to recruit researchers and engineers
necessary for the research and development in the

Annual Report 2019-2020

fields of particular significance in a medium- and longterm perspective. For this goal, RTRI will enhance theawareness and deepen the understanding of RTRI’s
research activities by researchers and students throughthe efforts of strengthening the collaborative relationships
with universities and other research bodies and promotinginternship programs. RTRI will continue recruiting
researchers regularly in order to maintain technicalcontinuity.
RTRI will diversify the way of recruitment and recruit
mid-career experts so that it can employ outstanding
experts in the state-of-the-art technologies such as digitaltechnologies and advanced simulation.
(2) Human resources development
RTRI will develop researchers capable of inheriting
the technologies that have been accumulated over years
at RTRI, responding the needs of railway operators andpromoting original and creative research and development.
For this purpose, RTRI will improve on-the-job training andeducational programs designed for each job level fromnewly-recruited employees to management people. The
personnel exchange programs with JR group and othercompanies will be further expanded to management-level
employees as well as younger employees.
Researchers will also be sent to research organizations
dedicated to the most advanced technical fields such as
digitalization in a short- and long-term basis. RTRI willfurther promote joint studies and personnel exchangewith overseas universities and research bodies in orderto develop the personnel who will be able to contribute toenhancing the international presence of Japanese railway
technologies from a global perspective.
Researchers will be strongly recommended to obtaindoctoral degrees and the certification of the professional
engineer and to actively join the activities of academic
associations in order to develop their own researchabilities, gain expertise and enhance the presence of RTRI.
(3) Work environment that provides employees a senseof achievement
RTRI will make the workplace safer and more hygienic,care about the mental health of employees, and support
the reform of working practices and nurturing the next
generation people. Furthermore, RTRI will create the work
environment where they can choose work styles flexibly

61News Releaseand pursue their tasks without worry, enjoying mental
and physical health.

For more details on RESEARCH 2025, please referto the Appendix to this report.

RTRI will provide a work environment where theresearchers of wide-ranging technical fields will beable to have candid discussions beyond the difference
between generations and job positions, and all theemployees will be highly motivated and satisfied with
their work.
5. Concluding remark
We will have to address immediately the issuesof unprecedented weather disasters and the serious
labor shortage due to declining working-age population.
However, it is difficult to solve these problems within thecurrent framework.
In order to solve them, technological innovation isindispensable. RTRI will take a leading role in railway
technical innovation and pursue the research anddevelopment to solve the challenging issues that
railways are facing, build a sustainable society andcreate the future of railways in cooperation with railway
operators, research bodies and related companies.
RTRI will accumulate know-how on railway
technologies, conduct accident and disaster
investigations and propose restoration and prevention
measures as an impartial third-party organization.
RTRI will strictly observe laws, regulations andarticles of incorporation and further enhance thecredibility of RTRI. Since RTRI does not own railway
tracks and facilities for commercial services, it will
promote personnel exchange with railway operators
more actively in order to develop researchers who
have a good understanding of actual train operationand its issues and to steadily pass on the technologies
to younger generations.
RTRI will implement “Master Plan - Researchand Development Creating the Future of Railways-RESEARCH 2025” based on its vision “We will develop
innovative technologies to enhance the rail mode sothat railways can contribute to the creation of a happiersociety”.

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Railway Technical Research Institute

10. Safety Education Program for Maintenance Work within
Track Area Using VR Training Material (STAT-VR)
The Railway Technical Research Institute developed a safety education program using a virtual reality
training material STAT-VR (Safety Training Aid for Trackman) that provides virtual experience of theprocesses leading to accidents that occur during maintenance work within track.
【Overview of the program】
This program provides two tasks to participants, training with virtual-reality material STAT-VR (Fig.1) and “casetranser exercise” that enable participants reflect on how
the processes leading to an accident could apply on theirown workplace. (Fig. 2)(when focusing on the maintenance work, attention toapproaching trains is distracted) and the importance ofearly evacuation (If not evacuate earlier, it may lead toan accident).

STAT-VR
Using STAT-VR, participants are able to experience how
an accident occurs and raise safety awareness throughimplementing maintenance work as a team leader in thevirtual space. (Fig. 1) With this virtual-reality material,
the participant can learn the limit of human attentiveness

Figure 1: Training with STAT-VR

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63

News Release【Case Transfer Exercise】
In case transer exercise, the participants fill in a worksheet and have group discussions on specific measures tobehave safely, applying the example of an accident caused
by delayed evacuation in other workplace to their own work
scene. Through the discussions, participants can deepen
their understandings of the process of the accident andnecessary measures.

After taking this training program, it was found that anincreasing number of maintenance workers behave moresafely. In particular, the participants are highly satisfied
with the training with virtual-reality material and 96% ofthem rated “There is reality”.

Figure 2: Steps of the safety education program【Background of development】
RTRI has analyzed accidents that occurred during themaintenance work for track and electrical installations
and conducted an opinion survey of maintenance staff.
According to the results of them, we have found that itis necessary to provide the staff with the opportunities tolearn about causes and processes of accidents triggeredby unsafe behaviors as well as about scary results andimpacts by accidents in order to further encourage themto make best efforts to ensure their safety during the workwithin track. (Fig.3)
This is the reason why RTRI has developed a newsafety education program to learn about the process ofaccidents. (Fig.2)

Figure 3: The progress of a situation when an accident occurs

64

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Railway Technical Research Institute11. Integrated Tread Surface Conditioning Block to Reduce
Wheel-Flange Wear Developed
The Railway Technical Research Institute developed dual-function integrated tread surface conditioning
block to keep proper wheel surface conditions by enhancing rail-wheel adhesion* while reducing reduce
flange wear.
* Adhesion: Friction between wheel and rail. Trains can be accelerated or decelerated by this adhesive force.

【Background of development】
Train wheels have two areas, tread to keep rolling withrail head constantly {(A) in Fig. 1} and flange to prevent
derailment on curves. {(B) in Fig. 1} Wheel tread needs
to have proper roughness to prevent skidding and sliding(adhesion). Meanwhile the flange is required to have lower
frictional coefficient in order to reduce rail and wheel wear
(lubricity), as it contacts with rail while the train is runningon curves.

【Characteristics of the integrated tread surface
conditioning block】
RTRI has developed the solid lubricant with the samebase material, thermosetting resin, as current abrasive
block in order to integrate solid lubricant and abrasive block
into one device. The lubricity of the integrated conditioning
block is mainly attributed to MoS2. The properties of thedeveloped block are as follows:

Currently, two separate devices, tread abrasive (① inFig. 2) and flange lubricators are used to improve twodifferent properties of wheels, adhesion of tread andlubricity of the flange. (② in Fig.2). Instead of using two
devices, RTRI’s team led by the Frictional Materials
Laboratory has developed the integrated tread surface
conditioning block capable of improving both properties
as a single device (Fig.1)
Figure 3: Newly developed block mounted on a truck

Figure 1: Integrated tread surface conditioning block

Figure 2: Current tread abrasive and flange lubricators

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・The block can increase both lubricity of the flange andadhesion of the wheel tread at one time.
・Since the fittings of the developed block has the same
dimension and structure as that of the current abrasive
block, they are interchangeable.
・Since the block has almost the same durability for wear
as does the current abrasive block, the replacement
period will remain unchanged. In addition, the current
flange lubricator will not be necessary any more.
・The joint surface between the solid lubricant and abrasive
material could be a weak spot in terms of durability. But
it meets the standard value of impact strength for tread
abrasive block (2.0kJ/m2 ).

【Advantages of the integrated tread surface
conditioning block】
The developed block was mounted to an express tilting
train whose wheel flange tends to wear rather rapidly and65

News Releaserunning tests were conducted in order to confirm its lubricity
and effect on adhesion. The current abrasive block and the
newly-developed block were mounted to the same type oftrains and the flange wear rates (amount of flange wear per
10,000 km of running distance) were compared. The wear
rate of the vehicle with the newly-developed block is 45%
lower than that of the vehicle with current abrasive block(without flange lubricator) and the lubricating performanceof the block was confirmed. (Fig.4) If train wheels skid
during running due to lowered wheel/rail adhesion, wheel
damage called “flat” is likely to occur. Since the wheel flat
was not found on the wheels of the block-mounted test
vehicle after the test running, it is also confirmed that thedeveloped block has the same level of performance tokeep adhesion as that of the current device.

Figure 4: Reduced flange wear rate by the developed block

It is expected that vehicle and rail maintenance work will
be reduced by mounting this block to vehicles. This producthas already been mounted to some of commercial-service
vehicles (Series 883 and 885 of the Kyushu Railway
Company) for the test purpose.

【Patent filing】
RTRI has filed patent applications on part of thetechnologies used for the block jointly with Ueda Brake
K.K.

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Appendix

Annual Report 2019-2020

Master Plan
- Research and Development
for Creating the Future of Railways -ＲＥＳＥＡＲＣＨ 2025
(2020–2024)

December 2019
Railway Technical Research InstituteMaster Plan
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Basic Policies
3. Business activities
3.1 Public interest activities
3.1.1
Research and development
3.1.2
Survey3.1.3
Technical standards
3.1.4
Information services
3.1.5
Publication and seminar
3.1.6
Diagnostics advisory
3.1.7
International standards
3.1.8
Qualification
3.1.9
Railway Technology Promotion Center
3.1.10Railway International Standards Center
3.1.11
International activities
3.2 For-profit projects
4. Management
4.1 Management concepts
4.2 Compliance
4.3 Information management
4.4 Human resources
4.4.1
Recruitment
4.4.2
Developing human resources
4.4.3
Creating a motivating workplace
4.5 Personnel
4.6 Revenue and expenditure
4.6.1
Revenue
4.6.2
Expenditure
5. Conclusion
Reference: RTRI's vision

1. Introduction
In light of global environmental issues, increasing societal burdens due to the aging
population, and the increasing complexity of social issues that need to be resolved such as
regional economic inequality, the United Nations adopted a series of targets entitled the"Sustainable Development Goals" (SDGs). The Japanese government is advocating theconstruction of a "Society 5.0", which outlines a vision of society in the future that Japan
should aspire to. As such, initiatives and programs have been launched or are planned,
aimed at building a sustainable society, which is capable of overcoming the various
challenges that lie ahead by using cutting-edge technology, enabling everyone to enjoy thebenefits of prosperity. In the field of technology, rapid advances in computing and high-speed,
high-capacity communications are driving innovation toward a digital society on a global
scale, through the adoption of digital technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), bigdata analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI).
In terms of Japan's railways, while transport volumes are steadily increasing due to factors
such as the gradual recovery of the Japanese economy and a growth in inbound demand, there
are concerns that the number of railway users will decrease in the long term because of thecountry’s decreasing overall population and working-age population, which are the result ofan aging society with a low birth rate and also the consequence of new working practices thathave emerged through workstyle reforms. Moreover, there is an urgent need to address a
growing number of issues: increasingly frequent and severe natural disasters such as heavy
rain, strong winds, and earthquakes, an aging railway infrastructure, and labor shortages in
the railway sector. The response to these issues must go beyond the framework of
conventional approaches. Railways are also playing an increasingly important role in thecreation of new services to build a seamless intermodal transportation network.
Digital technology is being increasingly used in the railways, to change systems and as asolution to various problems. As such, it is essential to form partnerships with relevantorganizations and share information to solve increasingly complex technical problems.
RTRI has therefore developed a master plan for the fiscal year 2020 and beyond, as aroadmap guiding the Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI) towards the realization ofits vision: "We will develop innovative technologies to enhance the rail mode so that railway
can contribute to the creation of a happier society." In addition to anticipating thedevelopment of railway technologies over the next 10 to 15 years, this master plan also aims
to anticipate changes in the business environment and fundamental technologicaldevelopments in the railway business in order to avoid squandering the opportunity of sharing
the results of its research and development (R&D) with society. The master plan therefore
covers a 5-year period up to 2024.

12. Basic Policies
In light of the changes in society and technology and advances in R&D, along with efforts
to further improve the safety of railways with a particular emphasis on improving theresilience of the railways against frequent and increasingly severe natural disasters, RTRI is
actively encouraging the adoption of digital technologies in all fields of R&D, with a view tostimulating innovation with regard to railway systems. In addition to obtaining high-quality
R&D results that demonstrate the competence and expertise of our Institute, we are increasing
the visibility of Japanese railway technologies on the international stage, in order to drive thedevelopment of railways on a global scale.
In order to realize these objectives, future undertakings will be based on the following
fundamental guidelines:(1) Enhancing safety with an emphasis on improving resilience to natural disasters
R&D that contributes to safer and more reliable railway transportation is essential, and weare placing particular emphasis on R&D that contributes to increasing the resilience ofrailways to frequent and increasingly severe natural disasters such as heavy rain, strong winds,
and large earthquakes. In addition, we are also actively conducting R&D for preventing the
failure and aging of ground and vehicular equipment.
We will also actively conduct impartial activities as a third-party organization such as
conducting surveys of the damage and causes of disasters and accidents and proposing
methods for recovery and measures to prevent recurrence.
(2) Developing innovative railway systems based on digital technologies
While advocating the adoption for railways of digital technologies such as IoT, big data
analytics, and AI, which combine high-speed information processing with high-speed, highcapacity networks such as 5G, we will also place emphasis on R&D for labor-saving
technologies, such as the autonomous train operation and digital maintenance, in order to
respond to labor-shortages in the railway sector. In addition, we will promote R&D that
contributes to increasing the speed of high-speed trains while protecting the tracksideenvironment and finding ways to help the railways save more energy. In addition, we will
promote initiatives that contribute to the creation of new customer services such as mobility
as a service (MaaS) and innovation in railway systems.
(3) Creating high-quality results by taking advantage of our collective strength
We will promote research and development for the future of the railways, the developmentof practical technologies that can yield immediate benefits for railway businesses, and basic
research for understanding railway-specific phenomena. In addition, we will promote the2advancement of simulation technology and the development of original testing and researchfacilities. We also aim to further increase trust in RTRI by continuing to acquire know-how
relating to railway technologies and the development of human resources, using
interdisciplinary and cross-cutting approaches for resolving various issues in the railways,
and realizing high-quality results and disseminating them both in Japan and internationally.
(4) Enhancing international presence of the Japanese railway technologies
Through partnerships with foreign railway operators and research institutions andstrengthening information sharing, we aim to increase the international presence of Japanese
railway technologies. In addition, as a base for international standardization activities tosupport overseas development, we will perform strategic and planned activities that
demonstrate leadership.
(5) Creating a motivating workplace where staff can demonstrate their abilities
Based on the recognition that each individual staff member is a valuable human resource,
we will train researchers that are able to respond to the needs of railway operators, hold aglobal perspective, and can creatively drive R&D. In addition to initiatives for workplace
health and safety, mental health, and ensuring a proper work-life-balance, we will work tofoster an open workplace environment where free and energetic discussions can be held, tocreate a positive and fulfilling workplace atmosphere.

33. Business activities
RTRI’s business activities which serve the public interest fall into eight areas: R&D,
surveys, technical standards, information services, publishing and seminars, diagnostic
advisory, international standards, and qualification. In addition, we will strategically andsystematically promote the activities of the Railway Technology Promotion Center and
Railway International Standards Center operated in partnership with other parties involved
in railway technology, as well as activities to increase the international presence of Japanese
railway technology. At the same time, we will actively advance the commercialization of
the results of R&D and promote for-profit projects, necessary for their widespread
adoption.

3.1 Public interest activities
3.1.1 Research and development(1) Advancing R&D
1. Enhancing safety with an emphasis on improving resilience to natural disasters
With an emphasis on R&D that contributes to improving safety, particularly as a response
to intensifying natural disasters, we are actively using high-accuracy meteorological andseismic information obtained from state-of-the-art observation networks belonging to public
institutions along with simulation technology to evaluate disaster risk in real time, thereby
re-enforcing the contribution of R&D to safe and prompt train operation control and earlyrecovery.
2. Developing innovative railway systems based on digital technologies
In addition to accumulating fundamental knowledge and know-how relating to advanced
information processing and high-speed communication networks, RTRI seconds staff to
specialized research institutions either on a short or long-term basis, to fully realize potential
synergies in cutting-edge digital technologies for promoting R&D. We also actively employ
external expertise in the field of AI.
3. Creating high-quality results by taking advantage of our collective strength
In addition to actively addressing basic research linked to solving various problems thatare specific to the railways and as a source of innovative technology, we will drive highimpact, challenging R&D, implementing original ideas which could have potentially highimpact on railway operations, as well as promote the bolstering of resources required forpractical technological developments that are in high demand in the railways. In addition tostrengthening initiatives such as joint research among universities in Japan and overseas,
research institutes, and relevant companies, we aim to find new solutions to different railway
technology issues through more cross-cutting projects. In addition, new large-scale testing4

facilities will be used effectively to produce high-quality results. Furthermore, a creative new
test facility that is directly linked to R&D will be established.
(2) R&D Objectives and pillars
RTRI has set four R&D Objectives, namely, “safety improvements” including resilienceagainst severe natural disasters, “cost reduction” including labor-saving measures formaintenance, “harmony with the environment”, including carbon reduction in power supply
networks, and “improved convenience’ including higher running speeds.
RTRI has also defined a series of “Pillars of R&D” which are fundamental to ensure
efficient use of resources and to drive R&D, and are referred to as "R&D for the future ofrailways", "development of practical technologies", and "basic research for railway" (Figure
3-1).

Pillars of R&D

Development ofpractical technologies

Research and development
for the future of railways

Basic research forrailways

Safety improvements
R&D
Objectives

Cost reduction

Harmony with the environment
Improved convenience

Figure 3-1. R&D objectives and pillars

5(3) Research and development for the future of railways
Working with a lead time before practical application of 10 to 15 years, RTRI is alreadyfocusing on issues that address the changing needs of railway operators and emerging social
trends, making use of the fields in which RTRI has high R&D capability and specialist
facilities, as well as demonstrating the collective strength of RTRI.
The following six major research themes have been specifically defined (Figure 3-2):〇 Enhancing the resiliency of railway systems against severe meteorological disaster〇 Autonomous train operation and control〇 Improving labor efficiency using digital technology〇 Low-carbonization of electric railway systems through cooperative control of thepower network〇 Increasing Shinkansen train running speeds in harmony with the tracksideenvironment〇 Sophistication of simulation technology

Safety improvements
Enhancing the resiliency ofrailway systems against
severe meteorologicaldisasterHarmony with theenvironment
Low-carbonization ofelectric railway systems
through cooperative
control of the power
network

Autonomous train
operation and control
Cost reduction

Sophistication ofsimulation technology

Improving labor efficiency
using digital technologies

Increasing Shinkansen
train running speeds inharmony with the
trackside environment
Improved convenience

Figure 3-2 Research and development for the future of railways

6

○ Enhancing the resilience of railway systems against severe meteorologicaldisasters
RTRI will aim to design measures to reduce the downtime in railway systems in the caseof heavy rain and strong wind, by optimizing decisions to suspend and resume operations,based on results of meteorological disaster risk assessments using high-density and realtime meteorological data. We will also establish methods to ensure rapid and targeted
repairs considering the residual strength of slopes and embankments which suffer damage
from heavy rain (Figure 3-3).
Method to assist decisions tosuspend operations in orderto prevent accidents insevere weather
Method to assist decisions toresume operations

Technologies accelerate postdisruption recovery ofoperations after heavy rainfall

Topic

2020

2021

2022

Enhancement ofmethods to assist
decisions to suspend
operation in order toprevent the accident insevere weather

Method for selecting representative sites forstability assessments in case of heavy rain

Enhancement ofmethods to assist
decisions to resume
operations

Method for assessing slope-stability
recovery progress after heavy rain

Development oftechnology to allow
prompt restoration
work following damage
caused by heavy rain

Real-time strong wind hazard map

Method for deciding when to resume
operations after strong winds

Methods for assessing facility restoration

2023

2024

Method for assisting
decisions to suspend
operations in case of heavy
rain and strong winds

Expected result
Real-time hazard map incase of heavy rain orstrong winds
Method to assist
decisions to suspend
operations

Method for deciding whento resume operations
following heavy rain andhigh winds

Method to assist
decisions to resume
operations

Temporary safeguarding
measures according to scale ofembankment or slope collapse

Method for assessing
damaged embankments
for restoration
Manual of proactive andreactive measures

Figure 3-3. Overview of "Enhancing the resilience of railway systems against
severe meteorological disasters"

7

○ Autonomous train operation and control
Autonomous train operation depends on a number of control systems including speed
control, monitoring of track status and the surrounding area and ground equipment control,
such as level crossings. RTRI is therefore developing methods to assist operational
decisions, based on trackside information and data obtained from ground equipment
controls, and from rolling stock using wireless vehicle-mounted positioning sensors, as well
as satellite positioning devices and sensors to detect obstacles on the tracks or in thesurrounding area. In addition, operation control methods are also being developed toprevent delays, ensure rapid post-disruption recovery, and save energy in urban areas(Figure 3-4).
Operating information for
the entire line

Disasterprevention andmaintenanceinformation

Information on passenger
numbers and situation in
nearby stations

Autonomous route control andspeed profile generator

Location information ofneighboring trains
Secured communication
technology

Detection of obstacles on and alongside thetrack
Operating decision algorithm integrating
trackside and vehicle status information

Safety information

Autonomous train operation control algorithms
based on wireless ground equipment control

Ground equipment
control

Operating control across the entire line tominimize delay propagation, ensure rapid postdisruption recovery, energy-saving driving, etc.

＋

Topic
Development of
track and trackside
obstacle detection
methods
Creation ofoperating decisionalgorithms

2020

2021

2022

Technology for the detection of obstacles on andalongside the track

2023

2024

On-track anomaly detection
systemExpected result
Method to detectobstacles on the
track ahead
Operating decision
methods

Operating risk assessment methods

Operating decision algorithms

Development ofautonomous
operation decisionalgorithms

Autonomous ground installation control methods

Autonomous
train
operation
controlsystemAutonomous
operating control
methods

Autonomous operation control
algorithms
Real-time inter-train communication technology

Development ofoperating control
methods for theentire line section

Methods for multidimensional evaluation of train
operation
Operation management algorithms for autonomous train
operation

Methods forcontrolling
operations along
entire line sections

Figure 3-4. An overview of "Autonomous train operation and control"8Amount of wear

○ Improving labor efficiency using digital technologies
A platform will be built to integrate the analysis of data collected from various sources
which can be input to a digital maintenance system that detects abnormalities and predicts
changes in the condition of tracks and structures based on the data obtained from sensors.
The system will be able to determine when and what appropriate repair or maintenancework is required. The integrated data analysis platform will also be used to develop
automatic diagnostic technologies for track and structures, using on-board sensing devices
including on-board sensors for the overhead contact line system. In addition, technologies
will be developed for the timely detection of abnormalities, such as high-resistance ground
faults, by monitoring power supply networks (Figure 3-5).
Re-estimate

Data platform for
digital maintenance

Remotediagnostics

Estimate
Actual measurement
Time

Network
Tracks and structures: Early
detection of abnormality using
on-board measurement data

Monitoring technologies on
contact line and power supply

Contact line and power supply:
prompt detection of abnormality
via on-board and stationary
monitoring
Early detection system for track
and structure abnormalities

Switches: CBM using intelligent
switches

Data platform: common data
platform shared among various
fields; creation of big data
analytics technology

Topic
Development of
track and structure
condition-monitoring
technology

Fabrication oftechnology formonitor powerequipment status

2020

Intelligent switches(Multi-point synchronouscontrol fully elastic switches)

2021

2022

2023

2024

Method for the early detection of track andstructure abnormalities

Expected result
Early track andstructures
abnormalitydetection system

Early detection system for track andstructure abnormalities

Technology to detect and mitigate a damage
in power collection system
Technology for monitoring train line equipment
and condition of power equipment

5

Technology formonitoring powerequipment condition

Digital data
platforms

Method for early detection of abnormalities
using power network monitoring

Development of lowmaintenanceswitches

Developing
technology for the
sharing and use ofdigital data

Basic specifications for intelligent switches

Basic technology for data analysis andevaluation

Basic configuration of
intelligent switches

Multi-point
synchronous-control
fully elastic switches

Data platform for
digital maintenanceConstruction of data servers and data collection

Figure 3-5. An overview of "Improving labor efficiency using digital technologies"9

○ Low-carbonization of electric railway systems through cooperative control of thepower network
To achieve low-carbonization of railway systems through active use of renewable energy
connected to the external power system, we will develop new control methods to harmonize
operation of energy storage systems with status of the external power system. Furthermore,in order to achieve further energy-saving of railway systems through more effective use ofregenerative power, we will develop real-time cooperative control methods for energysaving devices, such as energy storage systems and controlled rectifiers, as well as
developing a method for energy-saving driving operation depending on train operating
status (Figure 3-6).

Control method to harmonize
operation of power storage
systems with status of theexternal power system

Renewable energy
Regenerative power

Methods for real-time energy
coordination control
Method for generating energysaving train operation
Control Center

External
外部系統
systems
Information network

Electric power
network
電力ネットワーク
Substation group

Power-storage equipment group

Power-storage equipment group

Power-storage equipment group
Train group

Train group

Topic
Effective use of renewableenergyEfficient use ofregenerative power

Development of dynamic
energy-saving driving
operation method

Substation group

Substation group

Train group

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

Expected result

Control method toharmonize operation of
power storage systems
with status of theexternal power system

Control method toharmonize operation of
power storage systems
with status of the external
power system

Real-time cooperative control method
for energy-saving devices

Real-time cooperative
control method for energysaving devices

Control method for energy storage
systems

Derivation method of energy-saving
train schedule considering usefulness
for passengers

Method for generatingenergy-saving train
operation

Dynamic energy-saving
driving operation method

Figure 3-6. Overview of "Low-carbonization of electric railway systems throughcooperative control of the power network"10○ Increasing Shinkansen train running speeds in harmony with the tracksideenvironment
We will develop technologies for reducing aerodynamic bogie noise and tunnel micropressure waves by using a newly installed low-noise moving model facility. We will also
develop a pantograph with high current collection performance and low-noisecharacteristics for high-speed trains by using RTRI’s new high-speed pantograph test
facility. Furthermore, we will develop a technology for reducing snow accretion on bogies
by controlling the airflow around bogies during high-speed train operation (Figure 3-7).

Countermeasures against
aerodynamic bogie noise andpressure fluctuations
Development of pantographswith high current-collection
performance and low-noisecharacteristics
Structure for reducing snow
accretion on bogies

Proposal of low-cost
countermeasures against
micro-pressure waves forhigher speed trains

Topic
Development ofcountermeasuresagainst aerodynamic
bogie noise andpressure fluctuations

Development of
measures for reducing
pantograph noise

Development of
measures for reducing
snow accretion on
bogies in extremely cold
regions

Proposal ofcountermeasuresagainst micro-pressure
waves

2020

2021

Estimation of contribution ofnoise sources to wayside noise

2022

2023

2024

Prediction and evaluation of wayside noise
generated by higher train speeds

Measures for reducing aerodynamic bogie
noise and pressure fluctuations

Expected result
Measures for reducing
aerodynamic bogie
noise and pressure
fluctuations

Technology for reducing noiseand pressure fluctuations
High current collection
performance and low
noise pantograph

High current collection performance and low
noise pantographMeasures for reducing snow accretion on
bogies using air flow control

Structures for reducing
snow accretion on
bogiesRisk assessment of accreted snow droppingfrom Shinkansen bogies

Cost-reduction of countermeasures against
micro-pressure waves

Extension of application
range of countermeasuresagainst micro-pressure
waves

Low-cost
countermeasuresagainst micro-pressure
waves

Figure 3-7. Overview of "Increasing Shinkansen train running speeds in harmony
with the trackside environment"

11

○ Sophistication of simulation technology
We will create an analysis model that is applicable to commercial railway lines and thatcomprises a virtual railway test line which simulates vehicle motion, overhead lines,
pantographs, and rolling contact between wheels and rails. We will also develop a simulator
that evaluates the state of wear of current-collecting materials when contact loss arcing occurs
on pantograph and that evaluates the safety of vehicles operating at high speed while also
self-snowplowing. Furthermore, we will develop a microstructural simulation of materials
that can contribute to the development of wear-resistant materials and a numerical windtunnel that simulates large-scale, low-noise wind tunnel experiments using numericalcalculations (Figure 3-8).

Expansion of application of virtual railway test lines
Confirmation of consistency
between simulations and real
phenomena

Contact-loss arc simulator and snowplowing
simulator
Analytics tools to
elucidate phenomena(Development ofcontact-loss arc
simulator andsnowplowing simulator)

Provision of analytical models
applicable to commercial lines

Simulation of the
microstructures of materials

Application to thedevelopment of wearresistant materials

Numerical wind tunnel
Streamlining wind-tunnel
operations
Reproduction ofphenomena that surpassthe wind-tunnel
performance

Topic

2020

2021

2022

Expansion of applicationof virtual railway test lines

Improved consistency between thesimulator and real phenomena

Development of contactloss arc simulator andsnowplowing simulator

Method for coupled analysis ofsnowplowing and vehicle dynamics
Elucidation of contact-loss
arc phenomena

2023

2024

Practicality verification
using an analytic model
applicable to commercial
lines

Contact-loss arc simulator

Development of methods
for simulating the
microscopic structure ofmaterials

Microstructural simulations

Creation of numericalwind-tunnel technologies

Development of constituent technologies

Expected result
Analytics models
applicable to commercial
lines

Contact-loss arc
simulator andsnowplowing simulator

Application to thedevelopment of wearresistant materials

Efficient development
methods for wearresistant materials

Scale-up and expansion offunctions

Numerical wind tunnel

Figure 3-8. Overview of "Sophistication of simulation technology"12(4) Development of practical technologies
In order to provide timely practical results, we are addressing topics with immediate
relevance to the railway business (Table 3-1).
1. Technical developments requested by Japan Railway (JR) companies
Upon receiving a specific request, we will rapidly provide technological development
results that contribute to the resolution of issues at various sites while taking into
consideration specific local features such as cold regions. Particularly, we will focus on the
allocation of resources to issues that are considered to produce a strong ripple-effect whencommercialized and are greatly needed among railway operators and promote theircommercialization.
2. Development of practical technologies implemented independently by RTRI
By fully understanding the needs of railway operators and using the facilities, analytic
technology, and know-how, which are the strengths of RTRI, we will address topics that canbe rapidly adapted to solving on-site issues.
3. Research and development commissioned by the government
As part of the practical application and dissemination of the results of R&D, we areconducting R&D that has been commissioned by the government.

Table 3-1. Example topics for "Development of practical technologies"
R&D Objectives

Topic〇 Earthquake early warning system for nearfield earthquakes
Safety improvements 〇 Enhanced seat safety in the event of a collision〇 Methods of maintenance and repair that extend the lifespan of ground equipment
Cost reductions〇 Railway monitoring technologies comprising the use of sensors〇 Methods for confirming safety using vehicle-side cameras

Harmony with theenvironment〇 Application of superconductor technologies such as superconducting power
cables to conventional railways〇 Practical application of fuel-cell hybrid trains

Improved convenience〇 Brake equipment that contributes to reduced braking distance〇 Vertical vibration control systems for high-speed trains13

(5) Basic research for railways
We will actively engage in basic research to provide solutions to various issues that affectrailways specifically and can serve as a source for innovative technologies. In the field of"Elucidation and prediction of phenomena," we will conduct basic research into forecasting
meteorological disasters, vehicle running safety and stability, and improvements in the
trackside environment. With regards to "Creating methods of analysis, experimentation andassessment," we will conduct research into damage and degradation mechanisms, inspection
methods, and human factors. Finally, in terms of "Adoption of new technologies, materials,
and research methods," we will conduct basic research into friction, wear, prolonging theserviceable life of parts, and Artificial intelligence (AI) (Table 3-2).
Table 3-2. Example topics of "Basic research for railways”
Item
○
・
・

Elucidation andprediction ofphenomena

○
・
・
○
・
・
○
・

・
Creating methods ofanalysis,・
experimentation,
and assessment○
・・

Adoption of newtechnologies,
materials, andresearch methods

○
・
・
○
・
・

Topic
Forecasting meteorological disasters
Methods of estimating the properties of snow cover on the lines
Methods for predicting weather phenomena using big data analysis to publicly
available information
Running safety and stability of rolling stock
Methods for analyzing conditions that cause hunting and methods forassessing stability
Assessing vehicle behavior at the moment a vehicle reaches the overturn limit
due to crosswinds
Improvements to the wayside environment
Study on the generation mechanism of squealing and bridge noises anddevelopment of the mitigation measures
Methods for estimating and visualizing radio noise caused by running trains
Degradation mechanisms and inspection methods
Assessment of the fatigue crack growth rate and inspection intervals ofrailway axles
Elucidation of crack propagation mechanisms in bogie frames anddevelopment of inspection methods
Study on crack propagation mechanisms in rail heads and maintenancemethods for cracks
Human factors
Clarifying physiological indices for assessing mental and physical condition
Total evaluation method of railway passenger comfort based on factor
analysis
Friction, wear and increasing longevity of materials
Elucidating mechanisms underlying increased adhesive wear of contact wires
and pantograph contact strips
Elucidation of the frictional deterioration factors of wheel treads and proposals
for new materials for wheels and brakes
Artificial intelligence (AI)A model for introducing human technical skills into AI
A method for tracing control and decisions by AI

R&D of superconducting maglev will be conducted as research activities while focusing
mainly on the ongoing application of technologies such as superconductors and linear

14

motors to conventional railways. At the same time, R&D for maintaining necessary
technological capabilities will be conducted as fundamental research.
(6) Testing facilities
We will install two new large-scale testing facilities as proprietary testing facilities directlytied to R&D, and we will also install new and highly demanded testing facilities and renew
existing aging facilities.
1. Establishing a new large-scale testing facility
Two large-scale testing facilities will be constructed to assess the safety of the ground andembankments against earthquakes and heavy rains and to assess the response and durabilityof tracks and structures during high-speed train operation.
○ Centrifuge test facility
In order to assess the state of the ground during earthquakes and heavy-rain, and to solve
various related problems, such as performing a collapse analysis, we will install a facility
to assess the behavior of the ground and structures that reproduce stress states equivalent
to those observed in the actual ground within a scale model by applying a centrifugal force
using high-speed rotation against a reduced-scale model ground.
○ High-speed movement loading test facility
In order to develop a vibration-controlled track for high-speed rail and a maintenancefree track for regional railways, we will install new facility to assess the response anddurability of tracks and structures by reproducing the loads borne by tracks with highspeed trains (maximum speed 360 km/h) while using multiple actuators installed atsleeper intervals on the real track structure.
2. New installation and renewal of test equipment
We are installing new test facilities that are required for conducting high-quality R&D. In
addition, we are updating the test equipment that has exceeded its useful life and has
deteriorated significantly, with priority given to what is needed most and most urgently for
R&D.

15

3.1.2 Survey
In addition to understanding changes in society, the economy, and technology, we willcollect and analyze information concerning mid- to long-term trends in Japan and overseas,in the fields of safety, the environment, and the transportation economy, as they relate to
railways and trends in cutting-edge technologies such as digital technology. The results ofthese surveys will be used for R&D, and we will actively disseminate these findings. In
addition, we will conduct survey activities to predict the future of rail and to identify technicalitems for R&D.
3.1.3 Technical standards
With the increasing importance of the maintenance and management of social
infrastructure and with consideration for the shrinking labor force, we are strategicallypromoting the development of design standards, maintenance and management standards,
and examples of design calculations such that the design can be conducted while reflecting
construction and maintenance management efficiency perspectives.
3.1.4 Information services
We will collect, compile, and actively disseminate Japanese and foreign technical railway
information. In addition, using various media such as mass media and the Internet, in addition
to providing society with timely and accurate technical rail information, including highquality R&D results and activities, we will act as a base for information transmission anddisseminate information that contributes to rapid recovery following earthquakes.
3.1.5 Publication and seminar
We will further improve the content of periodical reports such as RTRI reports, Railway
Research Review (RRR), Quarterly Report of RTRI (QR,) and Ascent, as well as educational
activities such as lectures and technical forums, while striving to disseminate the results of
R&D in society. In addition, we will provide systematic training courses on topics such as
railway technology for all levels of knowledge, from beginner to expert.
3.1.6 Diagnostics advisory
We will meticulously respond to the needs of all railway operators and continue to actively
support them. With regards to consultations on disasters, accidents, and equipment failures,
we will promptly survey the damage and causes and propose methods for recovery and theprevention of recurrence. We will respond to severe natural disasters by forming crosscutting teams.

16

3.1.7 International standards
We will develop strategic international standardization activities to maintain and further
improve Japanese railway technology and expand it overseas.
With regards to the development of ISO (International Organization for Standardization)and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) standards, in addition to continuing topromote proposals from Japan as a secretariat for the National Mirror Committee, we will
actively incorporate Japanese design ideas and technologies in our response to standards
proposed by other countries.
In addition, we will also investigate trends in standardization activities being promoted byrail-related organizations that may be able to exert international influence and engage withthem as necessary.
Furthermore, with regards to various issues relating to standardization in the Japanese
railway industry, such as the stipulation and systematization of Japanese technologies andknow-how and examination of the state of the domestic certification system, we will workwith related parties to develop standards.
3.1.8 Qualification
In addition to creating an environment that makes it easy for railway engineers to apply
for professional railway design engineer examinations through the verification of entire
processes under examination, we will contribute to the development of human resources
for the entire railway industry with the aim of maintaining and improving the technicalknowledge level of railway engineers.
3.1.9 Railway Technology Promotion CenterWith a focus mainly on the systematization of technologies, problem solving, and themaintenance and improvement of technological know-how and technical information service
activities, in addition to partnering with the Japanese government and relevant institutions toundertake activities that contribute to safe and reliable railway transport, we will contributeto improving the technical level of those involved in railways. In particular, we will focus ontechnical support to revitalize regional railways through measures such as providing advice
based on site visits. In addition, through investigative research into topics of particular interestto railway operators, we will promote information sharing between railway operators.
3.1.10 Railway International Standards CenterWith the aim of maintaining and further improving Japan's railway technologies and theiroverseas expansion, we will act as a central organization responsible for international
standardization activities while closely cooperating with the Japanese government, Japanesestandards organizations, railway operators, and railway-related companies.

17

In addition to strengthening the cooperation with organizations conducting standardization
activities in Europe and Asia and promoting the use of standards developed and issued at
Japan’s initiative, including standards for railway project planning and promoting theunderstanding and adoption of Japanese railway technologies, we will increase awarenessabout international standards among Japanese stakeholders and promote human resource
development.
3.1.11 International activities
In order to further enhance the technological prowess and global presence of RTRI, we
will expand joint research with and staff secondment to overseas universities and research
institutions as well as improve both the quality and quantity of information disseminatedoverseas. In addition, we will strengthen our capability to investigate the latest trends inresearch overseas and actively promote the intake of researchers from overseas with the aimof invigorating R&D. Furthermore, we will contribute to the uptake of Japanese rail
technologies by providing active support for the overseas expansion of railway operators andrailway-related companies, providing support for human resource development, and throughthe international expansion of technologies developed by RTRI.

3.2 For-profit projects
We will promote for-profit projects in order to commercialize R&D outcomes, anddrive their widespread popularization. To this end, in addition to strengthening marketingand promotional activities and accurately understanding the needs of customers including therailway operators, we are actively implementing initiatives for promoting thecommercialization of the results of research and providing results that are perceived by clientsas being high-quality.
Securing revenue and promoting business efficiency to ensure stable and solid income,and management of expenditures will help to strengthen the management foundations of
RTRI.

18

4. Management
4.1 Management concepts
As a public interest incorporated foundation, we comply with laws and regulations and ourarticles of incorporation, and we encourage sound management.
In addition to increasing staff numbers in technological fields, placing a priority on R&D,
we shall make efficient use of the limited human resources to respond appropriately tosolving various problems in railway technology.
In order to cultivate researchers that can perform the R&D sought by RTRI in response to
the needs of railway operators in addition to enhancing level-specific training programs forstaff, ranging from new recruits to executives, and to ensure the reliable transfer oftechnological skills and knowledge, we are also actively exchanging personnel with railway
operators such as JR companies.
In order to complete the new installation, and update of RTRI’s testing facilities, andrenovation of research buildings based on a mid- to long-term plan, we aim to further increase
efficiency across all aspects of operation based on sound financial planning.

4.2 Compliance
We will promote continuous development through training courses and on-the-job training(OJT) with the aim of raising the ethical awareness of staff and strengthening compliancewith laws, regulations, and ethical codes.

4.3 Information management
In addition to the strict management of R&D information, we are strengthening security
measures used for the management and use of information communications and data.

194.4 Human resources
4.4.1 Recruitment
In addition to promoting initiatives to further understanding of the activities of RTRI bystrengthening collaboration with universities and research institutes and proactively offeringinternships and ensuring a supply of skilled employees to meet the demand in the technicalfields highlighted in the mid- to long-term plan, we are hiring strategically in order to avoid
skills gaps in the various fields of technology.
In order to ensure a sufficient supply of skilled experts in cutting-edge technical fields suchas digital technologies and advanced simulation technologies, we intend to diversify
recruitment to include mid-career recruitment of experts.
4.4.2 Developing human resources
In addition to ensuring the transfer of technological skills and knowledge accumulated
over many years to the next generation, we will train researchers able to perform creative
R&D to respond to the needs of railway operators. Therefore, we will enrich OJT and levelspecific training programs offered at various career stages, from new recruits through toexecutives. We will also actively conduct personnel exchanges with railway operators
including JR companies, not only among younger employees but also at managerial level.
We will conduct short- and long-term staff secondment to specialist research institutes
involved in cutting-edge technical fields such as digital technology.
From a global perspective, we are actively engaging in joint research with foreign
universities and research institutions and personnel exchanges in order to develop a pool ofhighly skilled employees that can raise the presence of Japanese rail technologies on theinternational stage.
To promote the self-development of researchers in order to accumulate specialist
knowledge and raise the international presence of RTRI, we will encourage the acquisitionof higher qualifications (PhDs and professional engineers) and promote participation inacademic and professional association activities.
4.4.3 Creating a motivating workplace
We will strengthen efforts to improve workplace health and safety, mental health, andreform working practices, as well as support employees with childcare, and creating aworkplace where employees can benefit from flexible working, and where they can worksafely and healthily both in mind and body.
We will nurture a culture of openness that allows researchers in various technical fields tohave free and vigorous discussions irrespective of differences in age and position, and wewill create motivating workplaces where all employees, from junior staff to veterans, canhave a high degree of motivation to work.

20

4.5 Personnel
Based on current recruitment performance, about 20 new employees should be recruited
each fiscal year, to maintain staffing at its current level of 550 (Table 4-1).
In R&D activities, we will reinforce technical fields that have been prioritized, such asincreasing resilience to natural disasters, promoting the adoption of digital technologies,
improvement of energy-saving technologies, and advancement of simulation technologies.
We will increase the number of staff in international standardization activities in order tostrengthen cooperation with international railway-related organizations and respond tocertification needs.
We will continue to assign staff to appropriate positions with the aim of increasing theefficiency of their work including other activities not mentioned above.
Table 4-1 Number of personnel(Units: Persons)
FY2019FY2020 – FY2024

440

442

18
10
40
42
550

13
13
40
42
550

Research anddevelopment
SurveyInternational standards
For-profit projects
Administration duties
Total

4.6 Revenue and expenditure
In estimating the contribution income from JR companies, we take into consideration
changes in the rail transport revenue of JR companies in recent years and the anticipatedeconomic situation of the society in the future. Although the repayment of loans from theDevelopment Bank of Japan will be completed within the period covered by this master plan,strict income expenditure management will still be adopted with the intention of ensuring
effective budget management. One reason for this is that R&D expenditure is increasing aspriority issues need to be addressed and practical application of research results also need to
be promoted. Another reason is that we should reserve funds for the creation of new largescale testing facilities, the renovation of old facilities, and reconstruction of the head officebuilding in Kunitachi (Table 4-2).

21

4.6.1 Revenue(1) Contribution revenue
In regards to the contribution revenue, revenue for each year is expected to remain at 2019
levels, as the revenue growth of JR companies over the past few years has been consistentlyhigh.
(2) Business revenue
In regards to the business revenue, because the current scale of revenue is expected tocontinue into the future, the revenue for each year is expected to be the same as that in 2019.
(3) Subsidy revenue
We continue to request subsidies to cover interest on repayments of money borrowed fromthe Development Bank of Japan. Subsidies from the Japanese government in addition tocompetitive grants will be actively sought, to ensure that RTRI can continue to engage
actively and creatively in R&D.
4.6.2 Expenditure(1) Personnel expenditure
Personnel expenditure is based on the number of personnel.
(2) R&D expenditure
We will strengthen initiatives for priority issues such as data collection and validation
testing for various meteorological conditions required to advance the R&D contributing toenhancing the resilience of the railways to natural disasters, promoting practicalapplications such as validation experiments for superconducting power transmission cables,and bolstering R&D expenditure for establishing test methods for new large-scale testing
facilities.
(3) Fixed asset acquisition expenditure
In addition to installing and renewing testing facilities, we will update and expand
general facilities to improve safety and address the issue of the aging of general equipment.
(4) Repayments to DBJ
Repayments are made under contract with the Development Bank of Japan and willconclude in 2022.
(5) Purchase of reserve assets for reconstruction of the Kunitachi head officebuilding
After examining what functions the new office building will need to ensure an
environment conducive to creative research, the building will be redesigned to a similar scaleas the current building, but with higher earthquake resistance.
The " Reserve assets for reconstruction of the Kunitachi head office building " will be set
aside as a fund for use in this reconstruction.

22

Table 4-2: Revenue and expenditure(Units: billion JPY)
FY
2019

FY
2020

FY
2021

FY
2022

FY
2023

FY
2024

Total

15.1
3.0

15.1
3.0

15.1
3.0

15.1
3.0

15.1
3.0

15.1
3.0

75.6
15.2

2.9
0.1

2.9
0.1

2.9
0.1

2.9
0.1

2.9
0.1

2.9
0.1

14.5
0.7

Subsidy revenue
Membership revenue
Other revenue

0.1
0.2
0.1

0
0.2
0.1

0
0.2
0.1

0
0.2
0.1

0.2
0.1

0.2
0.1

0
1.1
0.9

Proceeds from secured assets for Yamanashi
Maglev Test Track construction debt

1.1

0.9

0.5

0

2.4
22.3
5.9

19.5
6.2

19.1
6.3

18.6
6.5

18.6
6.5

18.6
6.9

94.5
32.6

R&D expenditure

2.7
3.0

2.7
3.4

2.7
3.4

2.7
3.4

2.7
3.4

2.7
3.4

13.8
17.2

Research and development for the
future of railways

0.8

0.9

0.9

0.9

1.2

1.0

4.9

Development of practical technologies

1.3

1.4

1.4

1.4

1.1

1.3

6.8

Basic research for railway

0.8

1.1

1.1

1.1

1.1

1.1

5.5

(1.2)

(1.4)

(1.4)

(1.4)

(1.4)

(1.4)

(7.0)

For-profit project expenses

0.7
1.9

0.6
1.9

0.6
1.9

0.6
1.9

0.6
1.9

0.6
1.9

3.3
9.8

Fixed asset acquisition
expenditure

3.8

1.7

1.7

1.7

2.7

2.7

10.5

(0.3)

(0.6)

(2.0)

(1.9)

(4.9)

(0.5)
(0.1)

(0.5)
(0.3)

(3.1)
(1.8)

Contribution revenue
Business revenue
For-profit projects revenue
Public-interest activities revenue

Revenue

Balance carried forward from theprevious period

Total revenue
Personnel expenditure
Non-personnel overhead
expenditure(Within parentheses, Technicaldevelopment requested by JR companies)

Expenditure

Other public-interest activities
expenditure(Of which, large-scale testing
facilities)

1.5

(0.2)
(0.2)

(0.7)
(0.3)

(0.7)
(0.6)

(0.7)
(0.3)

Repayments to DBJ

1.1

0.9

0.5

0

Purchase of reserve assets forreconstruction of the Kunitachi head
office building

2.8

1.5

1.6

1.3

0.3

Emergency funds
Total expenditure

0.1
22.3

0.1
19.5

0.1
19.1

0.1
18.6

0.1
18.6

(Of which, testing facilities)(Of which, general facilities)

1.5
4.9
0.1
18.6

(Note)・ FY 2019 figures represent amounts budgeted at the beginning of the fiscal year.
・Subsidy revenue is recorded only for subsidies against interest due to the Development Bank of Japan.
(It should be noted, however, that FY2019 includes a national treasury subsidy for research and development(110 million JPY))
・FY2019 research and development expenditures include the national treasury subsidy (110 million JPY).
・The totals may not add up due to rounding up.

23

0.5
94.5

5. Conclusion
The labor shortage caused by a shrinking working-age population in Japan, andunprecedented meteorological disasters are pressing issues that cannot be addressed throughconventional frameworks.
Radical technological innovation is essential to overcoming these challenges. RTRI plays
acts as a leader in technological innovation for railways, partnering with railway operators,
universities, and research institutes in Japan and overseas, as well as related companies toovercome difficult problems encountered by railways, and it pursues research and undertakes
development to create the future of railways for the realization of a sustainable society.
In addition, we are accumulating know-how related to railway technology and proactively
undertaking impartial activities as a third-party organization including the investigation ofdamage due to and causes of disasters and accidents and proposing measures for recovery,
and to prevent their reoccurrence.
As a public interest incorporated foundation, we adhere to the law and to our articles ofincorporation, and we are working to strengthen compliance and further deepen trust in RTRI.
RTRI, which is not an operator itself actively engages in personnel exchanges with railway
operators, and strives to build a pool of trained personnel that are able to grasp the status andissues that are specific to the railways, while encouraging the transfer of technological skills
and knowledge to the next generation.
Based on the vision of "We will develop innovative technologies to enhance the rail modeso that railway can contribute to the creation of a happier society”, we promise that RTRI
pledges to invest its utmost efforts to realized its Master Plan RESEARCH 2025: R&D for
creating the future of railways.

24

Reference

RTRI's Vision

RISING
Research Initiative and Strategy—Innovative, Neutral, and Global

Vision"We will develop innovative technologies to enhance the railmode so that railways can contribute to the creation of ahappier society."

Mission①To intensify research and development activities so as to improverailway safety, technology and operation, responding to customers'
needs and social change②To develop professional expertise in all aspects of railways and, as anindependent and impartial research body, to fulfill our tasks using the best
science available in an ethical way③To pioneer cutting-edge technologies for Japanese railways andbecome a world leader

Strategy• Addressing challenges that demand
innovation• Promoting research in fields where RTRI
has significant advantages• Exploring research frontiers• Advancing interdisciplinary research
projects and fundamental research

Fulfilling our tasks using
the best science available
in an ethical way as anindependent and impartial
research body
• Investigating accidents and disasters,
and proposing preventative measures• Enhancing technical support activities• Focusing on preparing railway
technical standards• Communicating information in atimely and effective way• Disseminating research outcomes• Promoting highly market-oriented research• Exploring visions of future railways

Intensifying R&D
activities

Vision RISING
We will develop innovativetechnologies to enhance the railmode so that railways can contributeto the creation of a happier societyManagement
Compliance, Improved working environment,
Human resource development, Equipment, Funding

Becoming a world
leader in the field ofrailway technologies• Enhancing our global presence• Encouraging international
exchange• Supporting overseas deployment
of Japanese railway systems• Active participation ininternational standards

YEAR 2019-2020: April 1, 2019 - March 31, 2020
Copyright© 2020 Railway Technical Research Institute.
All rights reserved.
Published by Atsushi FURUKAWA, Executive Director
International Division, Railway Technical Research Institute
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For download :Brochure & Annual Report: https://www.rtri.or.jp/eng/rtri/brochure.html
Other Publications: https://www.rtri.or.jp/eng/publish/