A worker peels off a Wi-Fi sticker inside a train station for the Tsukuba Express LineTsukuba Express Line in December 2022. More railway operators in the Tokyo metropolitan area have ended their free onboard Wi-Fi services due to the fact that tourist numbers are below pre-pandemic levels, and the companies are trying to reduce costs.
Wi-Fi connections were mainly offered on Shinkansen and other express trains ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Such services have not really caught on for local trains.
Metropolitan Intercity Railway Co. stopped offering free Wi-Fi on Tsukuba Express trains connecting Akihabara Station in Tokyo and Tsukuba Station in Ibaraki Prefecture on December 23, 2022, when its contract with a telecommunications carrier expired.
When the line opened in 2005, the Tokyo-based railway operator introduced a fee-based Wi-Fi service, and it started offering free Wi-Fi on some trains in 2020.
Users would have to register their e-mail addresses first to select the network name displayed on their phones or other devices.
A company representative said the number of users was small.
The service will still be available in station buildings, the company said.
It stopped doing it at the end of June last year to reduce fixed expenses. Its contract with a telecom company expired, and fewer inbound tourists than expected used the service.
A growing number of people have unlimited use plans. A representative said that they took into account the environment, where it is not necessary for them to go online with free Wi-Fi.
After April last year, Tobu Railway Co. stopped its free Wi-Fi service for regular trains on the Tobu Skytree and Tojo lines due to the decline in foreign tourists.
The company intends to continue the free service on a limited number of trains with an eye on catering to a rebound in demand due to increased tourism.
Most railroad operators outside the Tokyo metropolitan area are still providing free Wi-Fi.
Central Japan Railway Co. JR Tokai has introduced free Wi-Fi on its Hida and Nanki express trains. The service is also available on the Airport Line and other routes run by Nagoya Railroad Co.
Kintetsu Railway Co. provides free connections on some express trains in Osaka.
All of these companies said they had no plans to discontinue their Wi-Fi services.
Nishi-Nippon Railroad Co. is able to provide free Wi-Fi on its sightseeing trains, but the Fukuoka-based operator said it is considering options, including terminating the Wi-Fi service.
Hideyuki Asakawa, head researcher at Japan Research Institute Ltd., noted that consumers can access communication networks offered by their carriers when they ride trains in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Asakawa, a well-versed in communications infrastructure, said that few people are worried about how much data they use, and will switch to free Wi-Fi unless they are on long rides. The free service that railroad operators get isn't good for them unless it leads to customer satisfaction. Asakawa believes that there will be an increase in the number of railway companies that focus on free Wi-Fi for passengers who spend long hours on express and other trains.