Photo/Illutration East Japan Railway Co.’s Multi-Ecube multifunctional lockers at JR Shinjuku Station in Tokyo can be used for storage, pickups, shipments and bookings. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Lockers at train stations had been largely deserted and rendered useless during the commuter-depleted COVID-19 pandemic.

But they are now multi-purpose facilities that are providing extra convenience for business travelers, tourists and online shoppers.

In one service offered by East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) starting in September, luggage deposited in station lockers by 11 a.m. will be delivered to the users’ hotels by 6 p.m. the same day.

The service is available at five major train stations in the capital: Tokyo, Shinjuku, Ueno, Shinagawa and Ikebukuro.

It allows workers visiting Tokyo on business to go straight to a meeting from a station carrying minimal belongings.

Tourists can also start sightseeing right away after arriving in the capital. By the time they finish the day’s itinerary, their luggage will await them at their hotels.

Charges range from 3,100 yen ($20) to 3,500 yen, depending on the size of locker used. Users are required to make cashless payments when they book the service at a devoted website.

JR East transports the luggage to about 500 hotels in Tokyo’s 23 wards, as well as in Urayasu, host to Disney facilities in neighboring Chiba Prefecture.

The railway company plans to increase the number of train stations and accommodations covered under the delivery service.

West Japan Railway Co., which kicked off a similar service ahead of JR East, noted that about 40 percent of the users are international tourists.

JR West’s delivery service is available in Osaka, Hiroshima city and Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture.

The company also hopes the service will help alleviate congestion caused by tourists who board trains or buses with large suitcases during rush hour.

Seibu Railway Co., which operates in the greater Tokyo area, began a program that deposits items purchased online into station lockers for pickup.

The service is available at 46 of Seibu Railway’s 92 train stations.

Some of the train stations have refrigerated lockers for perishable products.

Eleven retailers and service providers have joined Seibu’s program, allowing customers to pick up confectionery bought online or even repaired shoes.

This arrangement is particularly popular among members of retailer Costco Japan. Ninety percent of shoppers who frequent Costco stores use Seibu’s locker service, according to Seibu Railway.

Costco Japan’s warehouse stores are typically on the outskirts of a city and not easily accessible by public transportation. Shoppers usually drive to the stores.

After Costco customers buy merchandise, Seibu workers pick up the goods and use trains to deposit the merchandise in lockers at specified stations for the buyers.

“We considered delivering the goods to lockers by vehicle but found the most effective way is by train,” a Seibu representative said. “And relying on a rain rather than a car reduces carbon dioxide.”

In the Kansai region, railway operator Hankyu Corp. offers a similar service.

Commuters can give prescriptions at pharmacies near two subway stations operated by Osaka Metro Co. and can pick up their medicine from lockers on their return ride.

The emergence of smart lockers that use a QR or access code instead of a conventional key has expanded the role that lockers can play.

Lockers are now distribution bases, where people can reserve space, deposit, pick up and deliver goods.

JR East calls such lockers “Multi-Ecube,” and is set to install 1,000 units by fiscal 2026, up from the current 304 at 123 stations in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

“If multifunctional lockers spread, there would be fewer cases in which drivers must redeliver goods. That, in turn, would contribute to resolving pressing social issues, including a shortage of drivers,” said Ryoichi Urano, a senior official with JR East’s marketing department.

Urano also noted that customers can pick up perishable food from lockers delivered by Shinkansen bullet train from production areas.

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