Research Division

Vehicle Structure Technology Division

Our division is composed of Vehicle Dynamics, Running Gear, Vehicle Noise & Vibration, and Vehicle & Bogie Parts Strength. Making solutions for problems concerning vehicle structure is our mission to progress R&D to the next generation.

Vehicle Dynamics

Vehicle Dynamics is in charge of running safety assessments of the derailment and overthrow of railway vehicle, new method of measurement and data analysis of vehicle vibration, and measurement and simulation of vehicle characteristics of vibrations.

Vehicle Noise & Vibration

Vehicle Noise & Vibration is in charge of technology about assessment, analysis, and decreasing of the car body elastic vibration and the interior noise of vehicle / car motion analysis with the multi body dynamics / improvement of car motion characteristic by ground unevenness.

Vehicle & Bogie Parts Strength

Vehicle & Bogie Parts Strength is in charge of the evaluation of fatigue strengths in the wheel, axle, bogie frame and car body, and researches in the non-destructive testing methods such as the ultrasonic flaw detection, and researches in the crashworthiness of vehicle body.

Hydrogen and Sustainable Energy

Traction Systems

Braking Systems

Structures Technology Division

Structures Technology division is composed of five laboratories: Concrete Structures, Steel & Hybrid Structures, Foundation & Geotechnical Engineering, Tunnel Engineering, and Architecture. Research and development related to design and maintenance of structures and buildings, earthquake resistant, etc., are progressed.

Concrete Structures

Research and development of concrete structures: such as RC and PC bridges, and railway viaducts.

Steel & Hybrid Structures

Steel & Hybrid Structures is in charge of hybrid structure made from steel and concrete, and steel bridge.

Foundation & Geotechnical Engineering

Foundation & Geotechnical Engineering is in charge of soil structure such as a railway embankment and a bridge foundation.

Tunnel Engineering

Tunnel Engineering is in charge of tunnels in mountain and city area.

Architecture

Architecture is in charge of architectures such as stations.

Power Supply Technology Division

We are engaged in research and development on a new railway power supply system apposite to the 21st century. Railway power supply system is a technology to provide a stable power to electric rolling stocks; as our research fields: power conversion at substations, feeding system, structural design and materials of overhead contact line system, and their measurement and maintenance.

Power Supply Systems

Power Supply Systems laboratory is in charge of AC and DC feeding systems.

Current Collection Maintenance

Current Collection Maintenance laboratory is in charge of elucidation and inspection of deterioration phenomena of overhead contact line system and development of materials to alleviate deterioration of the system.

Contact Line Structures

Contact Line Structures laboratory is in charge of structural design of overhead contact line system and measurement techniques of current collection phenomenon.

Track Technology Division

Our division is composed of Track Structures & Components, Track Structures & Geotechnology, Track Geometry & Maintenance, and Rail Welding. We are developing the hardware and the software about railway track technologies, which correspond to needs of railway companies, for "improvement of safety", "speeding-up", "efficiency of maintenance", "cost reduction" and "reduction of noise and vibration". Also, projects of technical criteria and international standard in railway track are progressed.

Track Structures & Components

Track Structures & Components is in charge of structures of track, such as rail, rail fastener, turnout, expansion joint, and continuous welded rail.

Track Structures & Geotechnology

Track Structures & Geotechnology is in charge of the maintenance-free track and roadbed for new lines, the method of improvement of ballasted track and soft roadbed and subgrade of railway lines in operation, countermeasures for noise and vibration, and reuse of building and industrial byproducts.

Track Geometry & Maintenance

Track Geometry & Maintenance is in charge of track geometry management approaches and track maintenance machinery to support safety and comfortable operation from local railway to Shinkansen line.

Rail Maintenance & Welding

Rail Maintenance & Welding Laboratory is in charge of general rail maintenance and management to improve reliability and economy in railway transport.

Disaster Prevention Technology Division

Our division is composed of Meteorological Disaster Prevention, Geo-hazard & Risk Mitigation and Geology. Prevention of natural disasters along railway due to raining, strong wind, snow, and weathering is our mission. In addition, researches related to a ground environmental problem are progressed such as assessment and evaluation technology related to geographical features, geology, and ground water and ground vibration by train running.

Meteorological Disaster Prevention

Meteorological Disaster Prevention is in charge of making solutions of mechanism, and prevention and mitigation of suffering about accidents of railways due to weather phenomenon such as strong wind and snow.

Geo-hazard & Risk Mitigation

Geo-hazard & Risk Mitigation is in charge of the prevention and mitigation of ground disasters due to raining, earthquake, or river level rising or flooding in a sloop disaster and a bridge scour disaster.

Geology

Geology is in charge of R&D related to ground water problems in construction work, construction and maintenance of tunnel, rock slope stability, quality of ballast, and prediction and countermeasures of ground vibration along railway.

Signalling and Operation Systems Technology Division

The Signalling and Operation Systems Technology Division is composed of three laboratories of Signalling Systems, Train Control Systems, and Transport Operation Systems. Our division conducts research and development on signalling safety and train control systems, both essential for ensuring safe and stable railway transport. Additionally, the division explores operations planning and management, typically including timetables, vehicles, and crew scheduling. Moreover, to establish innovative railway systems in the future, we are actively involved in research and development activities that integrate Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and other cutting-edge digital technologies with existing railway-specific technologies pertaining to safety and railway operations.

Signalling Systems

The Signalling Systems laboratory is in charge of research and development of signal equipment containing track circuits, ATP (Automatic Train Protection), and switch machines. This lab is also in charge of safety assessment of signalling systems and investigation of failure, and EMC evaluation of new cars for signalling equipment.

Train Control Systems

The Train Control Systems laboratory is in charge of the research and development of train control systems with new technologies and safety assessments of signalling systems.

Transport Operation Systems

The Transport Operation Systems laboratory is in charge of the research and development of systems and algorithms, the analysis of train delay, congestion and passenger flow in transport, to support transport operations.

Information and Communication Technology Division

The Information and Communication Technology Division consists of three laboratories: 'Information Analytics', 'Image Analysis' and 'Telecommunications and Networking'. Cross-disciplinary research and development is carried out with the aim of innovating railway systems through digital technology, using data analysis in various areas of railway systems, the use of sensors such as cameras and LiDAR and AI technology, and the latest communication technologies such as 5G and Beyond 5G.

Data Analytics

Research and development is carried out on data analytics in all areas of railways, including structures, track, rolling stock, transport and sales, as well as on related core technologies such as machine learning. We are also engaged in research and development on service evaluation and decision-making related to sales and transport policies, including demand forecasting.

Image Analysis

In recent years, digital technologies such as sensors, image analysis technology and AI have developed rapidly. The Image Analysis Laboratory is working on the advancement of these technologies for use on railways, as well as research and development on the application of image analysis technology to monitoring the condition of facilities, crew support during train operations and improving the efficiency of maintenance.

Telecommunications and Networking

The Telecommunications and Networking Laboratory carries out research and development on communication systems for railways, network control technology and systems to support the management and monitoring of railway equipment by sharing information across the system. It also carries out research and development on measurement and evaluation methods and simulation methods for the introduction of wireless communication technology into railway systems. In addition, the laboratory conducts research and development on measurement, evaluation and simulation methods for electromagnetic phenomena specific to railways, such as radio noise, and participates in deliberations on relevant international standards.

Materials Technology Division

Material Technology Division deals with the development and the evaluation of the various materials used in the railway system. For that purpose we also examine the methods of the analysis necessary for understanding the mechanism of the phenomenon. Five laboratories below are working in their research field. And the division itself carries out the researches of environmental impact assessment of the railway system and new materials for railway.

Concrete Materials

Concrete Materials is researching and developing analysis, diagnosis, evaluation, and repairing technologies for degradational phenomenon of railway concrete structures such as elevated structures, tunnel lining, track slab, and pole.

Vibration-Isolating Materials

Vibration-Isolating Materials is in charge of polymeric materials such as vibration isolating material like axis spring rubber, floor material, materials for vibration suppression, soundproof, and protection material for structures, and track pads.

Lubricating Materials

Lubricating Materials focuses on two fields: rolling bearings equipped with the running gears of railway vehicles, and lubricating oil and grease using for the rolling bearings, the driving device and the wheel/rail contact areas.

Frictional Materials

Frictional Materials is researching and developing materials and systems for railway-specific contact boundaries such as rails/wheels, wheels/brakes and catenaries/pantographs.

Railway Dynamics Division

The main subject of Railway Dynamics Division is the dynamics of the railway structures, tracks, vehicles and overhead contact lines. The main investigations are the dynamic interaction problems between railway structures, tracks and vehicles, between wheel and rail, and between pantograph and catenary. In order to propose the innovative technologies for improving performance, safety and efficiency of railway system, it is essential to carry out basic researches on such interface problems. The laboratories in Railway Dynamics Division cooperate closely with each other and also the other divisions such as Structures Technology, Track Technology, Vehicle Structure Technology and Power Supply Technology Divisions. In addition, applied researches and developments such as design and maintenance standards, new bogie structures and new track structure are carried out, enhancing the outputs of basic researches.

Vehicle Mechanics

Vehicle mechanics laboratory addresses tasks to elucidate the phenomena related the dynamics of railway vehicles in order to improve the running safety and the riding comfort. Vehicle dynamics during earthquake, wear performance of wheel and rail, and aerodynamic vibration of vehicle, which are issues to be solved with other research field, are our initial research topics. We are also tackling new vehicle devices to improve the motion ability such as single axle truck with improved isolation performance, dampers generating high-damping force at high-speed range.

Current Collection

Main research area of this laboratory is dynamic behavior between overhead contact lines and pantograph for improving current collection performance. We are also addressing development of measurement equipments to grapple with dynamic behavior of catenary system. Furthermore, reducing aero-acoustic noise emitted from pantograph for high speed train is our major challenge.

Track Dynamics

Track dynamics laboratory focuses on the research topics such as adhesion phenomenon between wheel and rail under various contact conditions; generation mechanism of rolling contact fatigue, damage and wear; dynamic response characteristics of ballast railway track by the running vehicle and its destruction mechanism, by means of theoretical and experimental simulations methods.

Structural Mechanics

The main objective of the research of Structural Mechanics Laboratory is to pursue the ideal structure and track which improve running safety of railway vehicle, reduce disaster damage, improve harmony with an environment and efficiency of maintenance, and reduce total cost. For this objective, we are working on researches about improving numerical simulation techniques, constructing measurement and evaluation method, and developing new types of structures based on numerical simulation and experiments.

Computational Mechanics

Computational Mechanics Laboratory works to introduce the advanced analysis technique using HPC (High performance Computing), with the goal of clarifying dynamic phenomenon to optimize the railway system. In particular, we are promoting analysis of dynamic behavior of rolling contact between wheel and rail in high frequency region and precise analysis of aerodynamic characteristic for railway vehicle using large-scale parallel computing, in order to resolve problems specific to railway.

Environmental Engineering Division

Our division is composed of Vehicle Aerodynamics Laboratory, Heat and Air Flow Analysis Laboratory, and Noise Analysis Laboratory Environment is a serious problem for human in the 21th century so that realization of environmentally friendly railway is strongly required from society. Japanese environmental researches and countermeasures such as 300 km/h operation of Shinkansen and 500km/h operation of levitation system railway are attracted around the world. Our aim is to lead environmental countermeasures of railways in the world keeping close cooperation with other railway companies, utilizing our testing facilities such as RTRI’s Large-Scale Low-Noise Wind Tunnel and research methods that have been developed up to now.

Vehicle Aerodynamics

Vehicle Aerodynamics Laboratory is in charge of aerodynamic characteristic of the vehicle under the crosswind, air resistance of the vehicle, unsteady aerodynamic force on the vehicle running in a tunnel, and pressure and velocity change due to the train passage in open section.

Heat & Air Flow Analysis

Heat & Air Flow Analysis Laboratory is in charge of the pressure wave that is emitted from the tunnel portal such as micro-pressure wave, and the air flow, heat and ventilation in the tunnel.

Noise Analysis

Noise Analysis Laboratory develops the studies on sound source analysis and measures of the railway noise, and the researches on wheel/rail noise, bridge noise and aerodynamic noise.

Human Science Division

Our division is composed of four laboratories: Safety Psychology, Ergonomics, Safety Analysis, and Biotechnology. Our research covers Human factors contributing to improving safety and comfort of railways, and technical support and safety actions of operation aptitude inspections with knowledge of human science.

Safety Psychology

Safety Psychology is in charge of psychology aptitude test for train driver operation staff and method of safety educations as prevention of accidents with human errors by employees.

Ergonomics

Ergonomics is in charge of enhanced comfort, safety and usability in trains and facilities for passengers, improving work environment for employees, and environment of educations and training.

Comfort Science and Engineering

Maglev Systems Technology Division

Maglev Systems Technology Division is composed of three laboratories (Electromagnetic Systems, Cryogenic Systems, and Applied Superconductivity) and Yamanashi Maglev Test Center. Our division focus on research and development of Maglev and superconductivity.
In the development of superconducting maglev technology, basic running tests using test vehicles had been conducted on the Miyazaki Maglev Test Line (length: about 7 km) until 1996. In 1997, running tests on Yamanashi Maglev Test Line (length: 18.4 km) started in collaboration with JR Central. Now, on the basis of the basic technology development plan approved by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, running tests have been continued on the Yamanashi Maglev Test Line which was extended to 42.8 km in August 2013. We are conducting research on ground coils and vehicle dynamics of Maglev. In addition to the running tests, we are promoting applications to conventional railways such as linear rail brakes and non-contact power supply systems.
In superconducting technology, we are fabricating and evaluating high temperature superconductors. As applications of superconductivity, we are developing superconducting feeder systems and power storage systems aiming at decarbonization.

Magnetic Levitation

Electrical Machines

Superconductivity and Cryogenics

Center for Railway Earthquake Engineering Research

In massive earthquake, the risk of disaster tends to be wide and complicated. To realize safer and more secure railway, it is important to summarize resources about seismic design, seismic diagnosis, earthquake countermeasures, and early warning system. Our mission is to be only one base of railway earthquake engineering in Japan.
Our division is composed of three laboratories, Seismic Data Analysis, Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, and Structural Dynamics and Response Control.

Seismic Data Analysis

Seismic Data Analysis is in charge of earthquake warning, earthquake disaster prevention system, and earthquake damage estimation.

Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering

Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering is in charge of seismic ground motion, ground behavior, and development of liquefaction countermeasure.

Structural Dynamics and Response Control

Structural Dynamics and Response Control is in charge of seismic response of railway structure, vehicle, and train line equipment, as well as its reduction using seismic isolation and vibration control.