Japanese Shinkansen bullet trains to feature Zoom booths
The Central Japan Railway Company is to replace smoking cars with “S-Work Vehicles” featuring videoconferencing facilities, following a smoking ban.
The Central Japan Railway Company is set to begin installing ‘Zooming cars’ on some of its Shinkansen bullet trains.
With video conferencing becoming more popular since the pandemic, the railway company have recognised that trains should no longer inconvenience business travellers with a lack of facilities.
With the smoking ban on trains coming into force in Japan in 2020, the Central Japan Railway Company will replace the redundant smoking cars with “S-Work Vehicles”, which will not only offer video conferencing spaces, but will provide passengers with a complementary mouse, a privacy screen for their laptops, and a pillow on which to rest their computers.
The N700S tilting train, which is the model that will be installed with these new booths, can hit up to 300km/h on the Tokaido/Sanyo route, meaning that commuters are able to still conduct business meetings at high speeds.
In-seat power and Wi-Fi that is double the speed compared to the regular service are also included as part of the travelling package.
The Central Japan Railway Company have created a promotional site to advertise the new “S-Works”, including manga-style drawing. This can be viewed here.
Dan McGrath
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Posted: 6th September 2021