Social

Business Strategy

Technological development to support JR Central's growth
In order for JR Central to fulfill its mission and develop in thefuture, it is essential to work continually to ensure safe and stabledaily transportation and pursue comfortable transportation
services, as well as to build hardware and systems that will serve as
the foundation to support such transportation and services throughtechnological development. To address various technologicalissues in a more integrated and comprehensive manner, we havebeen systematically promoting technological development thatwill lead to ensuring safe and reliable transportation in our railwaybusiness at the Komaki
Research Center, which
was established in 2002, bysetting issues that contributeto company policies froma medium- to long-term
Komaki Research Centerperspective.

Basic cycle of railway R&D
Acquisition of large
amounts of ﬁeld data

(tests on actual train lines, etc.)

Understanding
phenomena
occurring in the ﬁeld

Analytical study
and simulation

Demonstration using large
full-scale testing facility

Key themes of technological development
Based on the themes of“improving safety,”“promoting reform ofbusiness operations,”“realizing next-generation railway systems,”and“applying technology to the Chuo Shinkansen,”we are promoting
technological development to provide safer, more convenient,and more comfortable services efficiently by actively incorporating

technologies such as sensing, image recognition, and robotics.
We also promote further innovation of railway systems andinitiatives to expand our technological scope by broadening ourhorizons to include a wider range of technical fields to sustain anddevelop the company into the future.

Major technological development achievements

59

TokaidoShinkansen new
movable fences

20072009

2012

Shinkansen automatic
Next-generation track condition monitoring system
operation system (GoA2)
Trolley wire condition monitoring system
ATC performance ATC signal & track circuit condition monitoring system
improvement
Function of maintaining
High-speed heavy
New alarm trolley wires
overhead wire voltage
simple overhead wires
Wear detection system
by Shinkansen cars

2013

2014

2017

Derailment
N700A
New electronic level
N700S
prevention
crossing device
guards, deviation
Large-scale renovation method
Movable platform fence
prevention stoppers
for civil engineering structures
for conventional lines

CENTRAL JAPAN RAILWAY COMPANY Integrated Report 2023

Major technological developments: Sophistication and labor saving in maintenance,
cost reduction in maintenance and renewal of facilities
technologies such as sensing, image recognition, information
communication, mass data analysis, and robotics, under thebasic premise of ensuring safety.

For the Tokaido Shinkansen, tracks and electricalequipment are measured by Dr. Yellow, a train dedicatedto measurement. We have also developed a technology toreduce the size and weight of measuring instruments that canbe installed in commercial trains of the latest N700S rollingstock, enabling us to understand the condition of facilities
more frequently and carry out maintenance work in a timely
manner.
As for track condition measurement, we have developed
a next-generation track condition monitoring system withimproved accuracy using our proprietary calculation program.
By measuring the track conditions while trains are moving andsending the data in real time to the General Control Centerand others, we will be able to monitor track conditions more
frequently and more accurately.
To measure the condition of overhead wires and signaling
equipment, we have developed a small and lightweight
trolley wire condition monitoring system and an ATC signal &track circuit condition monitoring system. By measuring thecondition (wear, height, etc.) of trolley wires using commercial
trains, we can eliminate the need to periodically measure all
the lines, which workers used to do once a month at night,
saving a significant amount of labor. We will also be able tocheck the integrity of ATC signals and track circuits at a highfrequency to quickly detect signs of abnormality and takethe necessary action and perform maintenance on signaling
equipment and track circuits promptly.
ATC signal & track circuit
condition monitoring system
Car No. 1

Trolley wire condition
monitoring system
Car No. 12

Car No. 4

Verticalmeasuring
instrument

Horizontal measuring instrumentfor distance and height diﬀerence
between left and right rails

Car No. 16

ATC signal & track
circuit condition
monitoring system

Next-generation track condition monitoring system

Measurement of ground equipment using N700S commercial train(Example of technological development 2) Development of function to maintain overhead wire voltage by Shinkansen cars

Major technological development achievements (FY)
Series N700
Openingof Komaki
Research Center New ATCSince the opening of the Komaki Research Center, we havebeen striving to enhance the technological capabilities of theentire company through close cooperation between the Railway
Operations Divisions, which manage daily train operations, and theTechnology Research and Development Department to address
the technological challenges faced by the Railway Operations
Divisions and conduct regular technology exchanges, and throughsharing personnel between the two departments. Going forward,
we will pay close attention to technological trends in otherindustries and fields, broaden our inspiration and application,
and actively incorporate external knowledge to enhance ourorganizational capabilities so that we can meet the difficult
technological challenges we face in the railway business.

(Example of technological development 1) Development of technology to measure ground equipment using N700S commercial trains

Veriﬁcation using
testing facility

Analytical study

In addition to improving railway technology for the Shinkansen
and conventional lines, JR Central is striving to develop
technologies that will support the company’s future, as well as
to improve our technological capabilities and develop humanresources. At the Komaki Research Center, we have utilized
its characteristic full-scale testing facilities to achieve various
technological developments, including new rolling stock, measures
to prevent derailment and deviation of the Shinkansen, largescale renovation methods for civil engineering structures, and highspeed heavy simple overhead wires for the Shinkansen. We arealso working on numerous technological developments in light of
the rapid advances in information and communications technology(ICT) and the progress of digital transformation in recent years.

We are developing technologies to advance operations,
reduce labor, and cut costs, such as mechanizing andsystemizing maintenance operations by using new

Field veriﬁcation(from commercial trains,ground facilities,testing cars, etc.)

Seismicreinforcement
method forelevated bridges

Corporate Data

Creating "Social Value"

Technological development, technological capability enhancement, and human resources development for the future

Promotion of Technological Development

2005

Generating "Economic Value"

SocialCreating“Social Value” －Social－2002

Highlight

2020

2021

Millimeter-wave
train radioSeries HC85

2022

2023〜

Technology that converts
all frequency converters
to a stationary type

For the Tokaido Shinkansen, we have maintained theoverhead wire voltage by improving the electric groundequipment to prevent failure to maintain the necessary voltage
for stable train operation due to a drop in overhead wire
voltage caused by high-density train operation. As a technology
to replace the maintenance of overhead wire voltage with thisground equipment, we have developed a function that canmaintain overhead wire voltage by implementing a function toreduce voltage drops on overhead wire voltage in rolling stock
through software improvements to the main converter installedin N700S cars. This is the world’s first technology to maintainoverhead wire voltage with rolling stock.
This technological development enables us to remove someof the substations and power compensators. When this function

is implemented on all Tokaido Shinkansen trains, we expect
to be able to reduce the number of substations by about 10%
and the number of power compensators by about half. The
introduction of this system is expected to reduce our electricity
consumption by approximately 20 million kWh per year.
Substation

Standard 25,000 V
Electricity ﬂow

Voltage(1) Voltage drops

Main converter(2) Main converter
reduces voltage drop

Development of a function to maintain overhead wire voltage with Shinkansen cars
CENTRAL JAPAN RAILWAY COMPANY Integrated Report 202360