East Japan Railway Company (JR East) have appointed Thales to design a Communications-based train control (CBTC) system for Tokyo’s Jōban Line.
Thales will upgrade the existing automatic train control (ATC) system on the 30-kilometre line, connecting Ayase to Toride, with a modern CBTC system which will help increase capacity by removing track circuits and thus reducing headways.
In a statement, Thales said it was the first non-Japanese company to enter the Japanese signalling market through work on Tokyo’s rail network.
Jean-Louis Moraud, country director of Thales in Japan, said: “With this contract Thales becomes the first non- Japanese company to enter the Japanese signalling market, via the city of Tokyo, home to the world’s busiest railway network.
“Thales is pleased to bring its latest signalling technology and experience in urban rail systems modernisation to a country that already benefits from great advances in the transport sector.”
Photo courtesy of TC411-507 CC BY-SA 3.0
