Tokyo, Nov. 10 (Jiji Press)–East Japan Railway Co., or JR East, said Tuesday that it will introduce so-called walk-through ticket gates at 40 stations mainly in central Tokyo in spring 2028. Users who have the Mobile Suica app installed on their smartphones can pass through the new gates without tapping their phones against the gates, eliminating the need to take out their phones, for example, when carrying large bags. Walk-through gates will be introduced at all stations on JR East’s Yamanote Line, as well as its stations at Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture and stations operated by Tokyo Monorail Co., a JR East subsidiary, at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. The service will be available to users with smartphones compatible with ultra-wideband wireless technology, which enables highly accurate positioning and distance measurement. JR East said passengers will be able to pass through the gates smoothly even during peak hours. JR East plans to introduce walk-through gates at all of the roughly 550 stations on its conventional and Shinkansen bullet train lines that are equipped with ticket gates by the end of fiscal 2031. “We aim to create a stress-free travel environment for all passengers,” JR East President Yoichi Kise said at a press conference. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
