Face-based Railway Ticketing System Goes Live in Japan

The Yamaman Yukarigaoka Line, a short railway running in Sakura City, Chiba, will introduce Japan’s first full-scale facial recognition ticketing system starting Saturday.

The implementation of the biometric technology along the four-kilometer route will allow passengers to register their facial photo, credit card, and other details online. Ticket gates will be outfitted with cameras that will then confirm passengers’ identities and automatically charge fares to their credit cards. While paper tickets will still be available, those with magnetic tape that can be scanned by automated readers will be replaced by QR codes.

The system, developed with the help of a yet-to-be-named facial recognition technology firm, is intended to be a pilot project before potentially expanding across the country.

According to Yamaman Yukarigaoka Line senior official Yoshida Hideaki, the new technology is expected to reduce ticketing costs by roughly 30 percent. Mr. Hideaki also revealed that the operator spent around 60 million yen (roughly $381,000), partially funded by government subsidies, to implement the new system.

The news follows a development earlier this week concerning the Spanish firm Herta, which has secured a significant contract to deploy its facial recognition technology across an extensive railway network in India. Commissioned by Indian Railways, one of the world’s largest railway systems, the project will initially see facial recognition-equipped cameras installed at 230 stations, with completion expected this year. Further deployments will follow in the northern and western regions of India.

Source: NHK World Japan

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June 15, 2024 – by Tony Bitzionis