East Japan Railway Company and NEC Corporation are piloting a generative AI service to streamline ticket purchases at select railway stations [1].
The initiative aims to reduce congestion at physical ticket counters by automating the initial data collection process. By shifting routine information gathering to AI, the company intends to free human staff for complex tasks that require nuanced judgment, such as assisting foreign tourists or elderly passengers [1].
Announced on June 9, 2026 [2], the pilot service is known as the “Midori-no-madoguchi AI Response Service” (tentative name) [1]. The system is designed to interact with passengers to collect essential travel data, including the desired date, time, and route [1]. Once the AI has gathered these details, the information is handed over to the ticket-counter staff to finalize the purchase [1].
The trial begins in July 2026 [3] at two specific locations: the Midori-no-madoguchi ticket counters of Tachikawa Station and Omiya Station [4]. These two stations serve as the primary testing grounds to evaluate how the AI affects overall purchase time and customer flow [4].
JR East and NEC developed the system to improve operational efficiency across the network [1]. The integration of generative AI allows the system to handle natural language inputs from passengers, making the pre-purchase phase more intuitive than traditional kiosks [1]. This approach seeks to balance the speed of digital automation with the reliability of human service [1].
“The system is designed to interact with passengers to collect essential travel data”
This pilot represents a shift toward 'hybrid' customer service in Japan's transport sector. Rather than replacing staff entirely with kiosks, JR East is using generative AI as a digital triage layer. If successful, this model could be scaled across the network to mitigate labor shortages and reduce the chronic overcrowding seen at major Japanese transit hubs.
