Working on the Move by Rail

JR Central, which operates the Tokaido Shinkansen, the high speed train connecting Tokyo and Osaka,

has made changes to one of its cars to be more useful to certain passengers.

This is the office car.

From October 2021, one of the 16 cars in the trainset is now a dedicated office car

for business travelers who want to work while riding the shinkansen.

During the pandemic, business trips decreased significantly,

and shinkansen ridership dropped as well.

JR Central introduced the office car as a way of bringing those passengers back.

The pandemic has accelerated the trend of
remote work and online meetings.

This means anyone can work
from anywhere.

We want our passengers to be able to
work seamlessly throughout their trip.

We will continue to improve our
station facilities and shinkansen

so that our passengers can travel in
a way that suite their work-style.

Before the pandemic, it was common to see business travelers

working on the shinkansen while heading to their destination.

However, Japanese train etiquette requires passengers to put their cell phones

on silent mode and only make and receive calls from the car deck.

However, this office car is dedicated especially for remote work.

Phone calls and online meetings are welcome,

and there's no need to worry about the other passengers.

Passengers can also borrow small tables for their laptops and privacy shields to

prevent other passengers from seeing their computer screens.

JR East, which operates the Tohoku, Joetsu, and Hokuriku Shinkansen, among others,

also began using one car from each of its trainsets as a "shinkansen office car" on a trial basis from February 2021.

JR East has been experimenting with partitions between the seats and noise-generating devices

that make it difficult for neighboring passengers to hear other people's conversations to make a more secure working environment.

After the pandemic, we believe there will
be fewer business travelers than before,

so we are developing a new working environment
that is not restricted but time or place.

We will continue to create spaces that
make it ways to work on the move.

We also plan to expand services
beyond the shinkansen.

In May 2022, JR Central also introduced a new business booth - a modified version of its office car.

It's the first time an business booth has been created on a shinkansen in 60 years of operation.

These business booths can be used by groups of one to two people in 30-minute increments.

The booths ensure privacy during online meetings and phone calls.

We wanted to create spaces where passengers
didn't have to worry about other people,

especially when having long or
private conversations.

We started testing this type of working
space on three shinkansen in May.

We plan to make adjustments and improvements
based on customer feedback.

In today's program, we are taking a look at the different kinds of working spaces railway companies have come up with

during these difficult times to help business recover.

If each company has a dedicated office car or office space, that means there is a demand for it, right Ryo?

I think so.

Actually even before the pandemic, many passengers did work on shinkansen trains,

with their laptops and tablets and other devices.

But now some people want to talk a little bit over the net in addition to just working quietly in front of their screens.

So private compartment spaces on the trains would be a very good offering for them I think.

So, are companies decreasing the numbers of business trips now?

I think so.

Well, one of the surveys I read said that about 80% of the companies did reduce business travel

during the pandemic compared to before the pandemic.

And that I think is giving the Japanese economy as a whole a very big impact.

So, until recent years, companies have been focusing on mainly on providing service,

but now they're branching into other areas,

going to trains, renovating them, creating office spaces and booths in them.

That sounds quite expensive Ryo.

Is it worth it?

Well, I'm not really sure, but we will see in the future.

But I can say that this is part of the railway companies' efforts

to bring back the business people on the rails.

Alright.

Next, let's see the efforts of a railway company

who's evolving their stations into new working spaces.

This is Tokyo Station, the gateway to Tokyo.

Not only is there a shared workspace on the shinkansen,

but there are also booths like these here at Tokyo Station.

Hello!

Hi there!

My name is Hirata. I'm in charge
of these workspaces.

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you too.

Can I take a look inside?

You can reserve this one-person booth with your smartphone.

The QR code you receive is the key to enter.

Reservation is not required if a booth is available.

Scan the QR code like this
and the door opens.

There it is. Let's head inside.

It's cozy.

The booth has many amenities so
people can work comfortably.

It has the basics, of course, like desks,
wireless internet, power outlets.

You can use the monitor, too?

That's right.

What is this?

It's an air circulator. The air in the
booth is replaced every minute.

It's well ventilated.

There's also a ring light.

Some booths come with ring lights to light
your face during online meetings.

That's great!

It's quite bright!

Let's close the door.

It's a lot more quieter than I thought it would be.

Oh that is quite a change.

This would be great to focus and concentrate.

I use the booths maybe two
or three times a month.

I have a lot of online meetings
so the booths are convenient.

They are well set up with monitors, etc.
It's very handy.

I use them for job interviews.

The final interview is usually in person,

but the first round and group
discussions are often online.

My university is nearby.

I use the booths when I can't
get home from class in time.

There are booths like the ones we just saw but there are also shared workspaces like this one.

It's so spacious.

This is one of our shared working spaces.

There are six different seating options.

You can choose the potion that
best suits your working style.

There are cubicles for people
who want to concentrate.

And this is our "heaven" option.

Wow, it looks so comfortable.

It is. This sofa is a great
place to work and relax.

How is it?

It's great.

I'm not sure if I want to work
or take a nap though.

However, research says a little sleep
can improve concentration.

Some people use this space to
take a 15-minute nap.

I would love to take a nap now.

It's wonderful.

Next, is a more luxurious type of working space.

Wow, this is fantastic.

Thank you.

This elegant space is for people who like working in comfort and luxury.

The interior incorporates traditional Japanese design.

What a great space. There's
a sofa here too.

Yes, you can take a break
here and relax.

Booths are also available
if you need to focus.

And this space, as I mentioned, can
be used to relax and read, etc.

In addition, there are two rooms that can be used for in-person meetings.

This luxurious working space was originally a waiting room.

JR East also offers other types of working spaces, at buildings near the stations and affiliated hotels.

We've seen people using their computers, making
calls, and writing notes on the platform

so we thought it would be good to provide
working spaces at the stations.

With the recent trend of online meetings,
there is a demand for private spaces.

Everyone has their own working style, so we created
different spaces to accommodate them.

JR East's goal is to make their railway and non-railway businesses, such as lifestyle services, a 50-50 split.

JR East also plans to expand its working spaces from 504 locations to 1,000 locations by March 2024.

It was very interesting to see the different office types.

So we have the telephone booth types but we also had a really large luxurious share working spaces.

JR East is trying to meet the demands of different kinds of people using the station.

And this is because the company aims to make stations more functional according to what they say.

Yes, JR East mentioned in the video, that they are focusing right now on lifestyle as well as transportation right?

Yes, that's right.

JR East has been worried about the future ridership decline which was deemed inevitable

because of the forecasted decrease of the Japanese population.

And the company has said this for more than 10 years I think,

but recently they said that the crises has been brought about something like 10 to 20 years earlier than anticipated.

So JR East is now pursuing the strategy to redevelop the stations which are located

in the center of the city so that the stations can attract more people, not just passengers.

And this share spaces idea is actually one of the efforts that their making towards this direction.

Alright.

Well next, other private railway companies are also coming up with some clever ideas to create office spaces.

Let's see what they are.

Tokyo Metro, which operates nine subway lines

and 180 stations in central Tokyo, also introduced working spaces.

Tokyo Metro has been installing booths developed in collaboration with a machine manufacturer at their stations since February 2020.

Tokyo Metro turned its attention to passengers with carry-on luggage.

The company proposed the machine manufacturer develop larger booths.

As a result, they created more spacious booths than other companies,

allowing passengers to work comfortably with large luggage in tow.

Tokyo Metro's booths are located inside stations in central Tokyo.

Surrounded by office buildings, the station booths were created with business people traveling to attend meetings in mind.

Our booths are located around the city
center, so they are convenient to use.

They are most-commonly used by
people working on the move.

Until now, Tokyo Metro has installed 56 booths at 31 stations.

In response to user feedback, the company plans to develop even better services

to accommodate new ways of working.

With Shibuya Station as its hub,

Tokyu Railways operates eight lines in the southwestern part of the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Tokyu Railways has been creating temporary working spaces at stations in the suburbs.

This working space is located inside residential Nagatsuta Station,

less than an hour by train from Shibuya Station.

This space used to be an office where commuter passes were sold.

In recent years, fewer people have been buying commuter passes in person,

opting instead to use ticketing machines and smart phone apps.

This trend was further accelerated by the pandemic.

The signs at these working spaces were made by the company's staff to cut down on costs.

In addition to Nagatsuta Station,

the commuter-pass office at Tokyu Railways' Musashi-kosugi Station in Kanagawa Prefecture has also been turned into a working space.

We were tying to come up with
a way to utilize unused spaces.

We were looking for a short-term solution
that was profitable but low-cost.

Then we came up with the idea of
creating shared working spaces.

Tokyu Railways has also turned a facility near Miyazakidai Station in Kanagawa Prefecture into a working space.

This is the Train and Bus Museum.

At this museum, vehicles related to Tokyu Railways are on display.

Passing through the entrance that resembles a ticket gate,

you'll find a diorama of Tokyu Railways.

In addition to actual trains and buses,

there is an area where you can operate a motor from an actual train driver's seat.

And a simulator where you can experience driving.

Fun for all ages!

There are two buildings here at the Train and Bus Museum.

This building is dedicated to working spaces.

The great thing about this facility is that you can work inside the vehicles on display!

This Moha 510 was manufactured in the 1930's and ran on Tokyu Railways for about 60 years until 1989.

As you can see, there are desks and power outlets.

Many business workers and rail fans come here for a change of pace to work in a different environment.

Other working spaces include the "Ekimoku" space.

The tables are made from timber and recycled items salvaged from stations.

At the outdoor-themed space, you can take off your shoes and relax while working in a camping-like atmosphere.

At the YS11 space, you can work behind the flight deck of a YS-11 aircraft.

And, if you get tired, you can take a break in the break corner, or have fun on the simulator.

The museum temporarily closed at the end of February 2020 due to the pandemic.

While the building with the exhibits reopened in June the same year,

the second building, which was used for events and children's activities, remained closed

until Tokyo Railways decided to trial these unique working spaces.

In this residential area, people can enjoy the feeling of
being outside camping, on an airplane or a train, etc.

At the same time, people can come here to
work in a fresh and unique environment.

For now, the working spaces will remain for one year.

After that time, the company will consider whether to continue or reopen the museum as it was.

Or find another use for the building, depending on the pandemic.

Those are so wonderful office space ideas.

Just imagine working on a train inside a museum!

Yes! It's really comfortable here!

I think you should come here one day and try.

Cathy, it's really nice here.

Comfortable here? Ryo don't tell me you're there right now.

Yes, I am actually.

I'm actually sitting inside Moha 510 of the museum that we have just seen in the video!

- Hello!
- I'm so jealous! Hello.

I'm so jealous right now!

How is it Ryo, how is it?

Well it's really really comfortable.

The wooden interior inside the train is really relaxing,

and the table is fine and we have everything we need to work on.

It's really perfect.

Location is fine, really close to the station and that's good too.

Well now that you're there, what's your opinion on the efforts of these companies?

Well, the important thing about this is to think how this can add values to the core business of the railway company,

which is to bring people from A to B on their trains.

Now you know it is about getting back to basics but the issue is how to get the synergy effect between these two businesses,

the rail business and the shared office businesses.

So that's one thing and the other thing is that we're using digital gadgets to realize the remote working and something like that.

And these things evolve very quickly and so we might see new services that we currently never imagine possible in the very near future.

And so I do want to see a Japanese railway companies being involved in the development of such services,

and that will give them more chances in the future.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to see what the future might bring.

Railway Topics.

On March 21st, JR Kyushu's tourist train "Hayato no Kaze" ended service.

Many people came to say farewell.

"Hayato no Kaze" started service 18 years ago in 2004.

The train was popular for the beautiful scenery along the line and the historic station building, which had been in use for 120 years.

Unfortunately, the pandemic caused ridership to decrease

and the train service had to come to an end.

The timber interior gives the train a warm, nostalgic feeling.

This train is scheduled to be refurbished as a new tourist train in time for the opening of the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen in September this year.

On April 22nd, a hotel using a once-popular sleeper train opened in Hokuto City in Hokkaido.

The sleeper express "Hokutosei" ran between Ueno Station in Tokyo and Sapporo Station in Hokkaido before ending service in 2015.

Raising the funds through crowdfunding, local volunteers from Hokuto City in Hokkaido acquired two cars from JR Hokkaido in 2016.

The two cars are now being used as a hotel.

Inside is exactly the same as it was then Hokutosei was in service.

Guests can sleep on the bunk beds and enjoy the nostalgic atmosphere of a sleeper-car train trip.

On May 3rd, Nishikigawa Railway, which runs along the Nishiki River in Yamaguchi Prefecture held a "Junior Railroad Workers Day" event.

You are now a junior railroad worker.

Each of the 18 children who participated in the event received letters of appointment.

A staff member then taught them how to point in safety checks.

Once they were onboard, they experienced making the train announcements.

Please enjoy the beautiful, clear
water of the Nishiki river.

I'm amazed they can work
on such a wobbly train!

It must be tough remembering
all the station names.

Do you want to work here
when you grow up?

It's my dream!

The kids had a fun and unforgettable experience.