The shortage of labor force in Japan is no longer news. Although the catering service industry can be filled by foreigners, some industries involving professional fields will have more concerns, such as precision manufacturing and transportation. According to Japan's Asahi Shimbun, JR East Japan is testing the automatic driving system of trams, hoping to solve the problem of insufficient driving manpower through automatic driving technology, with the goal of achieving complete driverless driving in 2027.

JR East Japan uses the E235 series new car of Yamanote Line to carry ATO automatic driving system for short, and carries out fully automatic driving test from departure to parking during the period after the last bus. Although the existing Yamanote Line has been equipped with ATC automatic driving control system and TASC fixed position stop system as the means of speed control and platform parking, acceleration and deceleration still depend on manual driving control, and ATO automates these parts. As for the reason for choosing Yamanote Line, it is also because Yamanote Line is a relatively simple line in JR East Japan, and the relevant platforms have already started to prepare gates. There is only one grade crossing at the same time, which is more suitable for testing.

Image source: Wikipedia/Author: Abezori2525

News related sources: Asahi Shimbun