Facial Recognition Service Launched on Keisei Skyliner to Get Tickets; Railway Operator Aims to Ease Congestion

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:13 JST, January 28, 2025

Keisei Electric Railway Co. launched a service on the Keisei Skyliner connecting Narita Airport and central Tokyo that allows passengers to pass through ticket gates using facial recognition.

Users purchase a ticket online and register their faces. At a ticket gate, there is a tablet that scans a user’s face, and then a physical ticket is issued.

Because passengers can get on a train without stopping at a ticket counter or dispenser at a station, congestion is expected to be reduced.

The service has been available at four stations — Narita Airport Terminal 1 Station, Narita Airport Terminal 2-3 Station, Nippori Station and Keisei Ueno Station — since Friday. Marubeni Corp. developed the AI facial recognition system that is being used.

Although tickets for the Keisei Skyliner can be purchased online, passengers were required to get physical tickets at counters in stations. The number of Keisei Skyliner users has increased along with the rise in inbound tourists, often resulting in long lines to receive tickets.

A service in which passengers can get on a train using facial recognition was introduced last June on the Yamaman Yukarigaoka Line in Sakura, Chiba Prefecture. However, Keisei Electric Railway is the first railway operator in Japan to introduce a facial recognition service for trains with reserved seating.

Marubeni plans to expand its facial recognition service to other railway lines and into sectors other than public transportation.