Japanese rail conglomerate Tokyu is exploring deploying data centers along one of its railway routes.

Tokyu Corporation, Tokyu Electric Railway Co., iTSCOM, and Tokyu Construction Co., last week announced they will start a demonstration experiment to develop urban data centers under the Ōimachi elevated railway from June 2026.

In this demonstration experiment, a small modular center will be installed under the Oimachi Line elevated railway. Full details of the deployment weren't shared.

The Ōimachi Line is a railway line in Japan operated by Tokyu, running from Ōimachi in Shinagawa, Tokyo, to Mizonokuchi in Kawasaki, Kanagawa.

Tokyu said the impact on the server under the environment specific to the railway overpass, including the sound and vibration isolation along with the cooling performance of the server housing, will be measured. Based on the results, the feasibility of setting up data centers in various environments will be verified.

Tokyu said the project will take advantage of being able to directly utilize the large-capacity optical fiber network already built along the Tokyu Line.

The company will also consider establishing a data center along the Tokyu Line, including Shibuya, in the future, as well as building digital urban infrastructure along the Tokyu Line.

Tokyu was founded in 1910 as the Musashi Electric Railway Company, taking its current name in 1942 after a series of mergers. It owns a number of railways around the Greater Tokyo area, but also owns several bus companies, a real estate division, a department store, and several hotels.

Many railway companies operate large fiber networks running alongside their tracks. Some operators, including SNCF in France, have looked to monetize excess fiber capacity. In Spain, Reintel operates the fiber network developed by the state-owned ADIF railway company.