Japan begins tests of driverless bullet trains

A 'Doctor Yellow' high-speed test train checks the condition of tracks and overhead wires in Tokyo

Credit: Noriko Hayashi /Bloomberg

Japan’s rail operators have announced plans to test driverless bullet trains as early as next year.

The move to automate the nation’s famed high-speed trains aims to reduce human error and boost safety while also countering a predicted labour shortage as the population rapidly ages.

JR East will start by conducting autonomous test runs of its E-7 series shinkansen bullet train, which currently operates at top speeds of nearly 162 mph across central and eastern Japan.

Multiple 3-mile test runs will take place in Niigata Prefecture next autumn, with the trains remotely piloted, although drivers will be on standby on board in case of emergencies.

The self-driving tests will pave the way for an automated bullet train system amid predictions of a future shortage of drivers as the number of working-age people in Japan declines.

The country’s population decreased at its most rapid rate on record last year, with low birthrates and a fast-ageing society causing the nation’s workforce to shrink to a new low.

The new train tests will also enable operators to explore the connectivity performance of next generation 5G communication services in the area, according to Kyodo News.

Japan’s bullet trains were first unveiled to the world ahead of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and have since become a symbol of the nation’s post-war recovery and technological prowess.

Rail operators continue to explore the technological boundaries of its bullet trains, with new generation models including Alpha-X, which last month broke commercial shinkansen speed records by hitting 237 mph in a test run.

JR East plans to start commercial operation of the aerodynamic Alpha-X in 2030, with weekly test runs currently already underway in northern Japan.