Platform edge doors and fare rise

On 6th April, JR East announced a fare rise in the Greater Tokyo Area. On the next day, Tokyo Metro announced a fare rise as well. They charge 10 more yen for each single ticket. With the additional source of revenue, both companies will install more platform edge doors (also known as platform screen doors) across the entire network.

The very first platform edge doors are said to be the ones at Park Pobedy station in Saint Petersburg, Russia, which were installed in 1961. The first ones in Japan were installed on Tokaido Shinkansen high-speed rail in 1974 (excluding a demonstration at Expo '70). Unsurprisingly, platform edge doors were mainly for small stations with trains passing at dangerously high speed. In terms of ordinary railway (i.e. non high-speed rail nor monorail), Namboku line in Tokyo was the first one among them.

The platform edge door had been very rare until the 1990s, but it has become mandatory for new stations after 2000, as "Act on Promotion of Smooth Transportation, etc. of Elderly Persons, Disabled Persons, etc." (also known as the Barrier-Free Transport Act) was promulgated. Railway companies are not obligated to install the doors on existing stations, but several tragedies (some of which were blind people being hit by a train) gave impetus to do more. In 2020, The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (hereinafter referred to as the Transport Ministry) adopted a report that railway companies should make stations with more than 3,000 daily users 100% accessible.

However, the platform edge doors are so expensive that even major railway companies have been struggling to deal with implementing the policy. Hence, the Transport Ministry established Railway Station Barrier Free Fares Scheme in 2021, which allows railway companies to raise fares in so far as the extra income is duly spent for making stations accessible. Not only installing platform edge doors, but also lifts and accessible toilets are included. Even so, the most important issue is the platform edge doors, since more than 94% of JR East stations in the area already have lifts and accessible toilets.

JR East raises fares in March 2023. Tokyo Metro is also expected to do so at the same time. JR East and Tokyo Metro plan to complete installing the platform edge doors on stations required by the Barrier-Free Transport Act by 2032 and 2026, respectively. Since the fare rise is reasonable and justifiable, most passengers surely accept it. More railway companies are highly likely to follow JR East and Tokyo Metro.

*Sources including a press release of JR East, a document from the Transport Ministry and a newspaper article of Yomiuri Shimbun.