A week's immersion in the Japanese rail ecosystem

The Rail Open Lab is proud to share the highlights of its recent learning trip to Japan, organized in partnership with Business France.

This trip brought together nineteen representatives of infrastructure managers, professional organizations, manufacturers, construction companies and start-ups in the ecosystem. The main objectives were to decipher Japanese innovation and maintenance processes, to extend the professional networks of our members and to promote the French ecosystem internationally.

For a week, the delegation had the opportunity to meet major players in the Japanese rail sector, ranging from cutting-edge research institutes such as the Railway Technical Research Institute and the University of Tokyo to JR Group companies - JR East and JR Central. Innovative companies such as Hitachi Railway Systems, NEC, NEC, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, and Toshiba Corporation also shared their visions and innovative solutions.

The participants explored key themes for rail, such as predictive maintenance, energy optimization, infrastructure safety and new green technologies. They were able to discover the hydrogen trains from JR East and the energy storage systems developed by Toshiba, which illustrate Japan's commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The visit to JR Central was particularly memorable, illustrating the operational excellence that characterizes Japanese railways. Responsible for operating the Tokyo-Osaka Shinkansen line, JR Central has an exceptional safety record and maintenance and operational performance that is unparalleled in Europe.

Building on this rich experience, let's continue to innovate and shape the future of rail together!