Promoting digital transformation and sophistication of railway maintenance work "Railway Infrastructure Doctor"

In the railway business, where ensuring safety is of utmost importance, daily maintenance and inspection of facilities are essential. Among the maintenance work related to railway buildings and civil engineering structures, construction gauge inspections and special general inspections of tunnels have been mainly carried out by engineers through visual inspection and measurement during the night hours after the last train. In particular, special general inspections of tunnels require a lot of manpower, as they require close-up visual inspection of all parts, including high places, by assembling scaffolding on-site, conducting tapping surveys of suspected abnormalities, and creating development diagrams of abnormalities based on the inspection results, which has led to issues such as inconsistent inspection accuracy, technology transfer, a shortage of engineers, and increased inspection costs.

Therefore, the "Railway Infrastructure Doctor" is an application of the "Infrastructure Doctor®" road maintenance management system jointly developed by Shutoko Engineering, Aero Asahi, and Elysion to these railway maintenance tasks. Tokyu Railways Corporation introduced this system in September 2021, which acquires and analyzes 3D point cloud data from a laser scanner and image data from high-resolution cameras, to digitalize construction gauge inspections and special general inspections of tunnels. This will lead to more efficient inspection work, improved inspection accuracy, and support for technology transfer, while aiming to reduce inspection costs by up to approximately 30%, contributing to reducing fixed costs in railway maintenance.

"TOQ i" inspects rails and power lines while traveling at the same speed as a regular train

The TOQ i, a comprehensive inspection vehicle, was introduced in 2012, before the introduction of railway infrastructure doctor, and has succeeded in improving maintenance work to ensure safety. The TOQ i is a commercial vehicle that combines an electrical inspection vehicle that inspects electrical equipment such as the wires (trolley wires) that supply electricity to trains, and a track inspection vehicle that inspects track equipment such as rails, and inspects all Tokyu lines and the Minatomirai line. The nickname TOQ i was chosen from a public contest and was given as a friendly name. By inspecting while running at the same speed as a normal train, it is possible to inspect while running between commercial operations with passengers on board, and the measurement accuracy has been improved and it is equipped with a function that allows recording of video in high-definition quality. This makes it possible to identify areas that need to be checked by analyzing the measurement results, contributing to the sophistication of the work.

Autonomous buses to improve the sustainability of local transportation

We have been selected as the contractor for the Shizuoka Autonomous Driving ShowCASE Project, an autonomous driving demonstration project implemented by Shizuoka Prefecture, and are working on a demonstration experiment of an autonomous driving bus. In response to issues such as a shortage of drivers for local transportation and support for the mobility of elderly people in depopulated areas, we will conduct demonstration experiments using the latest technologies such as autonomous driving, with the aim of having local transportation operators develop new mobility services and implement them in society.

In December 2020, we established a "remote control center" capable of monitoring and controlling multiple autonomous vehicles near Izu Kogen Station and conducted a demonstration experiment to verify the remote monitoring and control technology of operating vehicles. In FY2021, we conducted remote monitoring and remote control of multiple vehicles in four cities: Matsuzaki Town, Kamo District, Ito City, Numazu City, and Kakegawa City, and promoted the sophistication of the remote control center. By utilizing these technologies, we will conduct verification to solve regional transportation issues such as depopulated areas where it is difficult to maintain bus routes and the last mile from stations to tourist destinations, and also aim to revitalize the region by operating autonomous vehicles as a tourist attraction content.

In addition, in September 2022, we will begin a demonstration experiment in Aoba Ward, Yokohama City in collaboration with Tokyu Bus, to examine the feasibility of using the service as a means of transportation in suburban residential areas along the line.

Revitalizing Izu and proposing new travel ideas

Our company and Izukyu Railway operate the tourist train "THE ROYAL EXPRESS" that connects JR Yokohama Station and Izukyu Line Izukyu-Shimoda Station. In a high-quality space that combines materials and construction methods born from cutting-edge technology with traditional materials and craftsmanship, we provide a rich time that goes beyond just heading to your destination, and guide you on a memorable and one-of-a-kind "beautiful, sparkling journey."

In addition to "THE ROYAL LOUNGE YOKOHAMA" where you can relax before boarding the train, we have set up "THE ROYAL HOUSE SHIMODA", a restaurant overlooking Shimoda Bay and the Izu Seven Islands, at the top of Mt. Nesugatayama in Shimoda, and have also renovated the Shimoda Ropeway that goes up Mt. Nesugatayama. By proposing new travel plans in cooperation with local people and Tokyu Group companies, we are promoting the charm of Izu both domestically and internationally. We offer seasonal travel plans, such as cruise plans that include meals, accommodation, and sightseeing, and boarding plans with meals. By communicating the splendor of Izu, including its traditional culture, we hope to attract more people who are interested in Izu and visit, and to create a cycle in which the region can shine even more. We will continue to work together with the local community to create a stage for travel.

THE ROYAL EXPRESS～HOKKAIDO CRUISE TRAIN～

"THE ROYAL EXPRESS" also operates in Hokkaido, mainly in the summer. In order to support Hokkaido, which was affected by the Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake in February 2019, a project was launched with JR East and JR Freight to contribute to tourism promotion and regional revitalization. The train departs from Sapporo and travels through four areas - Obihiro/Tokachi, Kushiro/Shiretoko, Okhotsk/Kitami, and Asahikawa/Biei/Furano - on a course that allows people to experience the tourist attractions. By creating an appealing travel product based on the tourist train, the company is promoting the appeal of Hokkaido's tourist attractions.

Starting in 2022, we will be offering the "HOKKAIDO CRUISE LIMITED" plan, which will allow you to experience more of the nature and the land and spend a relaxing stay. In January 2024, we plan to start operating in the Shikoku region as the "SHIKOKU SETOUCHI CRUISE TRAIN."

"THE ROYAL EXPRESS" will work with the people of the communities it operates to bring out the charm of the local area and create wonderful journeys for its customers.

Satellite shared office space NewWork and Relark

NewWork is a members-only shared office space for corporations operated by our company. We have directly managed and partnered stores not only areas served by Tokyu’s railway lines but also in major cities across the country, boasting the largest number of stores in the industry. By establishing a store network nationwide, we contribute to the realization of new ways of working and work-life balance. NewWork is the first project realized under our "In-house Entrepreneur Development System" which aims to develop innovative human resources, and was commercialized in May 2016 with the aim of providing a flexible work environment in line with the diversification of work styles even before the spread of the new coronavirus infection. NewWork is for employees of corporations that have signed a contract, but from February 2021, we also opened the relaxing work lounge relark Tama Plaza for individual users.

Tokyu Alliance Platform: Tokyu Group 's driving innovation

Tokyu Alliance Platform is an open innovation platform that promotes business co-creation with companies, mainly startups, under the concept of "Let's develop urban and community that the world will admire together." The Tokyu Group, which operates in multiple business fields, faces a wide range of management issues and Urban and community development challenges. The importance of open innovation is increasing in order to realize sustainable Urban and community development. Tokyu Alliance Platform aims to solve social issues through the creation and transformation of businesses that utilize the wide range of customer contacts, assets, and know-how of Tokyu Group, and to "realize the creation of urban and community development that the world will admire by providing social value unique to Tokyu."

FY2021 Pan for You, which won the Tokyu Award, the top prize at the Demo Day held in Tokyo, Japan, in March 2012, has a strong affinity with Tokyu Group in terms of sustainability, such as extending the shelf life of bread by using proprietary freezing technology and IT, contributing to reducing food loss, and changing the way bakers work by eliminating the time constraints of baking bread. The high affinity with Tokyu Railways, Tokyu Recreation, Tokyu Gourmet Front, and Tokyu Resorts & Stay has led to the co-creation of the business.

At Demo DAY FY2022, Kuradashi Co., Ltd. won the Tokyu Award. The company operates the social good market "Kuradashi," which sells products that are still edible but may otherwise be thrown away at bargain prices. To date, Kuradashi has held "Kuradashi" POPUP SHOP in four of our group's commercial facilities, and opened its first permanent store at Tama Plaza Terrace.

Over the past seven years since the days of the Tokyu Accelerate Program, the predecessor of the Tokyu Alliance Platform, a total of 954 companies have applied, 94 have implemented PoC or test implementations, 31 of which have been commercialized or fully implemented, and seven of which have entered into business and capital alliances (as of the end of August 2022).

Promoting Innovation in Shibuya

In Shibuya, our most important base, we are not only providing a place to promote innovation, but are also participating in projects that bring together industry, government, academia, and citizens.

In order to form a global innovation hub centered on Shibuya and accelerate open innovation in the domestic industry, we opened the open innovation facility "SOIL (Shibuya Open Innovation Lab)" specializing in the social implementation of cutting-edge services and products in July 2019. In addition, the co-creation facility "SHIBUYA QWS" at Shibuya Scramble Square, which aims to create ideas and new businesses that lead to social value by bringing together diverse people, has supported 160 projects (as of September 2022) that challenge the creation of new social value that does not yet exist in the world since its opening.

In August 2020, Shibuya Ward and our company signed a comprehensive partnership agreement on the formation of a global hub city. By further developing the startup ecosystem, promoting cultural dissemination and industrial development, and increasing the international competitiveness of the city of Shibuya, we aim to form a global hub city as one of the world's leading overseas cities.

We are also participating as a managing company in the Shibuya Startup Deck (commonly known as "ShibDeck"), a consortium of Shibuya City and private companies. Together with Shibuya City and other member companies, we will contribute to creating an environment where anyone can easily try new things and further develop the startup ecosystem in Shibuya.