Resource-Scarce Japan Gets More Trains Running on Renewables

Rail operators in resource-poor Japan are increasingly turning to renewable energy as part of the country’s push to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Kyodo News reported.

Tokyo’s 5-km Setagaya Line became Japan’s first train service to run exclusively on renewable energy in 2019. (Photo: HOTSpring1949 Wikimedia Commons)

Currently, about 75% of the energy used to operate trains comes from thermal power.

The transport ministry aims to cut the sector’s carbon dioxide emissions by roughly half from fiscal 2013 levels of 11.77 million tons by the end of the 2030s.

In Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo, Utsunomiya Light Rail Co. operates a 14-kilometer line powered by electricity from biomass at a local waste incineration plant and from solar panels on homes.

While the line requires relatively little energy, Utsunomiya city official Atsushi Sugiura noted the CO2 reduction could reach 9,000 tons a year if the shift from cars to trams by residents is included.

Tokyo’s 5-km Setagaya Line became Japan’s first train service to run exclusively on renewable energy in 2019, powered by hydroelectric and geothermal sources.

Tokyu Corp., which operates Setagaya and eight other lines in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture, converted all its services to renewables in 2022, purchasing electricity certified as non-fossil fuel to cut around 160,000 tons of CO2 annually.

Still, operators face challenges: renewable power is often costly for high-consumption businesses, and ensuring a stable supply remains difficult.