Tokyo Metro to Remote and Implement CBM for Railway Substation and Electrical Room Maintenance Using Sensing and AI Technologies

Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd. (Tokyo Metro) is working on Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) for railway substations and electrical rooms. This is part of the company's group medium-term management plan, "Run! Next Generation," which aims to evolve railway operations through new technologies and digital transformation (DX), with the goal of optimizing maintenance operations while considering safety, stability, and labor shortages.

To support safe transportation, Tokyo Metro has conducted periodic inspections primarily through on-site checks. However, to ensure sustainable railway business operations amid a declining labor population, the company is developing and introducing CBM in various fields of railway equipment to promote maintenance optimization (improving work efficiency and optimizing inspection cycles).

In this initiative, for railway substations and electrical rooms, the company will remotely acquire status data (video, temperature/humidity, partial discharge, dust, etc.) using various sensors, replacing traditional periodic on-site inspections by staff, thereby achieving high-frequency measurement and state monitoring. Furthermore, the data will be analyzed by AI (conducted on the data infrastructure "REFMa CoRE" currently under development) to analyze failure signs and optimize equipment replacement timing. The expected benefits are as follows: - Early detection of failure signs through high-frequency monitoring of equipment status - Significant reduction in hazardous work, such as risks of electric shock, and prevention of occupational accidents - Reduction in inspection time due to decreased on-site work and travel via remote data acquisition (estimated reduction of up to approximately 60%)

In FY2026, Tokyo Metro will designate the area around Yoyogi Substation on the Chiyoda Line as a priority area for CBM and smart maintenance to advance various verifications. From FY2027 onwards, the company plans to roll out this initiative to other areas.

Tokyo Metro will continue to promote the "evolution of railway operations through the introduction of new technologies and DX" to further improve the safety and security of railway transportation.