In an effort to meet the growing demand for new work styles amid the pandemic, on Monday East Japan Railway Co. launched onboard "office cars" for certain shinkansen bullet train lines that connect Tokyo with the country's northern and central regions.
For no additional charge and only on weekdays, passengers on the No. 8 cars of the Tohoku, Joetsu, and Hokuriku lines can now talk on the phone and participate in online meetings from their seats — activities that are discouraged on the rest of the train.
"We want to support a new way of working that is not bound by time and place," said an official from the railway operator known as JR East, which finally began the service in earnest after successful trial runs.