Two Continents | Changes for Skyliner train travellers from Narita Airport to central Tokyo

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The Japanese railway company Keisei Electric has introduced an AI-supported facial recognition system at the stations to and from Tokyo Narita Airport. Passengers will receive their tickets after their faces have been recognised at the ticket gates, which is intended to reduce crowding on the trains.

Important changes have been made at Tokyo-Narita Airport, as reported by the Polish Sakura Foundation on their Facebook page. Keisei Electric Railway Co. has introduced an AI-supported facial recognition system at Narita Airport stations and on the train to the airport. If you are planning a trip to the centre of Tokyo or Narita Airport, you need to know that you will have to show your face on a tablet when you approach the gate. You will then be given a ticket for the next train to or from the airport.

How will this ticket be paid for? Passengers will have to register a photo of their face and pay for the ticket on the train company's website (here) beforehand. Of course, this is not mandatory, and passengers who choose not to do so will be able to buy a ticket as before, i.e. at a ticket office or machine. The solution is intended to help reduce crowding on trains from Narita Airport to the centre of Tokyo.

Source: Sakura Foundation, Photo: David McKelvey, Flickr