Disability News Japan Podcast Episode 80: JR West Develops Automatic Ramp For Wheelchair Users

By Barrier Free Japan

November 24 2021

Episode Notes:

OSAKA – West Japan Railway Co said Wednesday that it has developed an automatic ramp system designed to help wheelchair users get on and off trains. The system automatically extends a stainless ramp when a train arrives at a station platform.

This is the first device in Japan that simultaneously eliminates any vertical or horizontal gap between the platform and the train door, according to the company, better known as JR West.

JR West plans to conduct demonstration tests until February next year, aiming to put it into practical use in a few years.

The ramp is about 3.6 meters wide and some 1.5 meters long. When a censor at a station detects that a train has stopped, the ramp installed at the end of the platform will automatically come out in about five seconds, causing no delay in the train schedule.