OSAKA -- Plans are afoot to implement automated trains for all services running on the Osaka Loop and Sakurajima lines in this western Japan city, according to an announcement on Feb. 19.

Kazuaki Hasegawa, president and representative director of West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) made the remarks at a regular press conference. From February, test runs have begun using the system with actual trains that provide services on the lines, and development of the technology is going ahead.

In its "technology vision" program revealed in March 2018, JR West set itself a target of having automated driving technology employed on its lines in around 20 years.

A group of JR West workers are seen observing equipment related to automated-train-driving system tests, in Osaka on Feb. 18, 2020. (Mainichi/Naohiro Yamada)

According to the company, it carried out its first tests on the Osaka Loop Line's outer loop between Osaka and Kyobashi stations in the early hours of Feb. 6, after normal services had ended. The control unit, which is still in development, was installed onto a train comprising eight carriages. A total of four tests will be carried out by the end of February to check accuracy and ride quality.

A train driver is also deployed to respond in the event of an emergency, but they don't do any of the basic controls required to operate the train, such as accelerating or decelerating it.

In the test runs so far, the system has had issues including not being able to get the trains to stop at the correct points on platforms. JR West's railway headquarters said, "We will collect the data, and intend to work toward improving its accuracy."

(Japanese original by Masaki Takahashi, Osaka City News Department)