Bullet train upgrade brings 5G windows and noise-cancelling cabins to Japan
- Reference: 1776314034
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/04/16/jr_central_shinkansen_tech/
- Source link:
Rail operator JR Central announced the new tech late last month and will initially deploy a couple of the suites on six trains.
The carrier explained that the antennas come from a Japanese company called AGC that weaves microscopic wires through glass to form an antenna. JR Central will connect the windows to an on-train Wi-Fi router.
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AGC says rival tech relies on 5G signals reaching a train and then bouncing around inside before reaching the Wi-Fi unit. The company says antennas woven into train windows maintain line of sight to nearby 5G base stations.
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That matters because JR Central’s Shinkansen can achieve speeds of up to 285 km/h, which means they speed past cellular network base stations so quickly that it’s frequently necessary to reconnect to another radio. AGC says keeping a line of sight connection means its antennas allow increased 5G signal strength, so Wi-Fi service on board trains should be more stable and speedy.
AGC offers similar products for windows used on buildings but cooked up a special edition for Shinkansen services.
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JR Central's forthcoming premium suite with illustration of PSZ noise suppression tech - Click to enlarge
The sound-deadening kit JR Central will deploy is called Personalized Sound Zone (PSZ) and comes from Japan’s tech giant NTT.
The tech uses the same principles applied to noise-cancelling headphones – determine the waveform of sound and project an inversion of that waveform that cancels out ambient noise.
[5]China's CR450 bullet train clocks 453 km/h in pre-service tests
[6]Domo arigato, Mr Roboto: Japan's bullet trains to ditch drivers
[7]Japan's space agency enlists train operator's AI to foresee in-orbit failures
[8]Japan solves 5G airliner conundrum: Keep mobe masts 200m from airport approach paths. That's it
JR Central says it’s implementing the tech because some people don’t like to wear headphones, and hopes to allow travelers in its premium suites to watch video on a laptop, or converse, without having to put up with train noise.
The railway operator opens Shinkansen bookings a month before services operate, so The Register was unable to look for a price as we endured slow 5G and all sorts of armpits and elbows during our Thursday train commute. ®
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[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aeCzQIaR0iJgOy4_7SD3BQAAAEs&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[4] https://regmedia.co.uk/2026/04/16/supplied_jr_central_suites.jpg
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/22/china_cr450_450_kmh/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/12/japan_automated_bullet_train/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/24/jaxa_enlists_railway_ai_maintenance/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/01/19/5g_airliners_solved_by_japan/
[9] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Wired Windows
Instead you have an aerial that can be damaged by a stone chip.
These cars with cameras in the top middle in front of the rear view mirror are making car windscreen replacement a much more expensive and complicated task.
Re: Wired Windows
Many cars have aerials of some description printed on a window, often the rear window alongside or as part of the demisting resestance wires. Big disadvantage is possibility of damage, either from a badly-stacked load or, as with one car we had, when the garage selling it second-hand peeled off the sticker of the garage which sold it new. Not only put two wires of the heater out of action but also one of the worst (least sensitive) car radios I've had for years.
M.
Re: Wired Windows
I think they were originally only meant to receive signals. The whole spy thing came later.
:)
Re: Wired Windows
I remember I had a Mondeo as a company car that had a heated windscreen using very thin embedded wires, these also included the antenna wires for the primitive car phone.
The wires in the window made an effective jammer for my windscreen mounted sat-nav, which was nice...
Re: Wired Windows
The printed black speckled patch around the mirror is wire-free, to allow toll tags to work, but its not the best place for a satnav...
The noise-cancelling tech is impressive
However I found [1]this to be a far more effective solution.
No electrical power needed and very reliable.
[1] https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/duct-tapes/1466828
Re: The noise-cancelling tech is impressive
Painful when removing it from your ears though.
Re: The noise-cancelling tech is impressive
Pardon?
Cancelling noise from mobile phones?
British trains are not so much bullets as sling shots, but it's not the noise of the train that bothers me.
It's people who have lengthy mobile phone conversations at full volume.
People who do this typically have nothing worthwhile to say. However, recently I had to sit through a woman's detailed description of how one of her colleagues was being sacked for bullying, including his name and the names of the bosses of the company. All this is presumably confidential information.
How did this behaviour become acceptable?
Re: Cancelling noise from mobile phones?
My mum-in-law was on a train where someone was having a loud and personal conversation on a phone. So many people were staring at him that, in some exasperation, he snapped "excuse me, but this is a private conversation", to which my m-i-l laughingly replied "no, it most certainly is not". He left.
Re: Cancelling noise from mobile phones?
Going on a long journey on a packed train on a hot bank holiday weekend, the whole carriage was subject to an annoying student in the seat opposite us telling everyone his whole personal love life stories. Eventually he ran out of charge or credit and loudly told the other end he was going to have to drop the call. Several people in the carriage clapped at that point...
Wired Windows
My da's 1970s Chevrolet pickup truck had two thin, yet visible, wires embedded in its windshield to act as a broadcast radio antenna. The wires formed two upside-down, capital Ls.
The advantage was not having an aerial likely to be damaged in an automatic car wash.