Symbol Character Decided for "Patrere" Vehicle Equipped with Track Facility Monitoring Equipment

Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Taito-ku, Tokyo; President: Akihiko Kosaka; hereinafter referred to as "Tokyo Metro") announced today that it has selected the winning entries for the symbol character contest held for its track facility monitoring equipment-equipped vehicle, "Patrere" (trademark pending).

The contest, themed "A Partner That Watches Over the Rails While Running," was held from February 4, 2026 (Wed) to March 27, 2026 (Fri) with the aim of making the initiatives supporting the safe operation of railways more familiar to the public. Many entries were received from across the country. Following deliberation by an in-house selection committee (Chairperson: Senior Managing Executive Officer Ogawa), one Grand Prize winner and five Excellence Award winners were selected.

The Grand Prize was awarded to "Mogupakun," created by Hajime Tsunashima. "Mogupakun" will be used for vehicle wrapping on the Tozai Line vehicles starting commercial operation in the latter half of fiscal year 2026, and will also be widely used in public relations materials and promotional activities.

Tokyo Metro is advancing data acquisition using track facility monitoring equipment and precise understanding of track conditions to promote Condition Based Maintenance (CBM). Through this symbol character, we will communicate track maintenance operations and technical initiatives that support railway safety more clearly to customers and other stakeholders.

Details are as follows.

"Patrere" Symbol Character Contest Results

1. Grand Prize Winner (1 entry)

▲ This character is inspired by a mole that works underground. To ensure thorough inspection even in dark places, it watches over facilities with glasses in the Tozai Line colors, and checks for small rail distortions with lasers emitted from its sensitive nose. With its wheel-like hands and feet, it moves around, supporting safety in unseen places, and fully embodies Tokyo Metro's commitment to protecting underground facilities. Its clear concept and approachability were highly praised, leading to its selection as the Grand Prize winner!

<Winner's Comments>

Thank you for selecting me for the Grand Prize. I am very surprised and deeply honored. I hope "Mogupakun" will be a great partner for "Patrere" and become a beloved character for many people for a long time. Thank you very much.

2. Excellence Award Winners (5 entries)

▲ These characters were submitted by siblings. "Patrun" features a design using all of Tokyo Metro's line colors and a striped pattern inspired by rails, fully expressing the Tokyo Metro identity.

"Patto-kun" has a patrol lamp on its head and looks reliable, ready to conduct thorough patrols. Both are friendly and wonderful characters that make you want to play with them!

3. Future Development

The Grand Prize-winning character is scheduled to be applied as wrapping on the leading and trailing cars (Cars 1 and 10) and the car equipped with track facility monitoring equipment (Car 4) on the Tozai Line, commencing commercial operation in the latter half of fiscal year 2026. The character design is pending trademark registration, and we will proceed with its deployment in various initiatives such as public relations materials, events, and web media.

4. Inquiries Regarding the Contest

Patrere Office E-Mail: [email protected]

[Reference] What is Track Facility Monitoring?

Track facility monitoring is a system that allows measurement and recording while revenue service trains are running. It automates part of the track inspection tasks that were previously performed manually, enabling a reduction in on-site work and improved efficiency of nighttime operations.

Furthermore, by utilizing the increased amount of data collected, it allows for early detection of signs of abnormality, leading to more reliable and efficient maintenance work.

There are mainly two types of track facility monitoring equipment for data acquisition:

1. Track Material Monitoring Equipment

This equipment visually monitors rails, fasteners that secure rails, and sleepers. It uses a combination of two types of cameras (one for measuring shape and one for clear object imaging) to confirm the condition of the facilities.

2. Track Displacement Monitoring Equipment

This equipment uses lasers to measure rail distortion (displacement). The measurement results are transmitted to the cloud in real-time, allowing us to observe changes in the track and determine if it is "gradually deteriorating."