Recent Topics on Human Science Research

The Human Science Division of the Railway Technical Research Institute comprises 4 laboratories: Safety Psychology, Ergonomics, Safety Analysis and Biotechnology, and has been conducting human scientific research to improve the safety/comfort of railways linked to issues such as psychological aptitude tests, human error prevention, driver support, abnormality/accident handling, ride comfort, risk assessment, and user environments. This paper outlines recent topics related to human science research of safety administration support, education and training, improvement of the on-board environment and other environmental investigations.