Transport · Automated metro · Be Smart KOBE
Kobe Airport Station (P09).
The station that completes
the world's first accessible air-to-rail journey.
The Kobe Airport Station (P09) is the terminus of the Port Liner, operated by Kobe New Transit (神戸新交通株式会社, KNT), and is connected by a covered walkway directly to Terminal 1 of Kobe Airport (UKB). Since 28 September 2023 it has carried NaviLens on platforms, exits, lift, toilets and fare-adjustment machines — and on 15 November it became the closing point of the world's first «from airport to railway» trial: Sannomiya → Port Liner → Kobe Airport Station → airport terminal, on a single app across three operators.
§ Kobe Airport Station in pictures
From platform to exit — 42 languages, no need to focus the camera.
NaviLens and NaviLens GO tags on the green platform signs (Platform 1 for Sannomiya · Kita Futo), on the yellow «Exit» signs, in the corridors to lift and escalator, in the men's and women's toilets with tactile maps, and on the fare-adjustment machine.
P09 Kobe Airport
Port Liner terminus — directly opposite T1 of Kobe Airport
8.2 km
Automated Port Liner line on Port Island (P01 Sannomiya ↔ P09 Kobe Airport)
15 Nov 2023
World-first «from airport to railway» trial with KMTB · KNT · UKB tags
30 m
NaviLens / NaviLens GO tag reading without focusing the camera
The client
Kobe New Transit (KNT)
Kobe New Transit (神戸新交通株式会社, KNT) operates the Port Liner, the AGT (Automated Guideway Transit) that links Sannomiya with Port Island and Kobe Airport. The line has 9 stations (P01 Sannomiya → P09 Kobe Airport) and a branch via Nakafuto / Shimin Hiroba.
The NaviLens deployment at Kobe Airport Station is part of Be Smart KOBE, coordinated by NPO Eye Collaboration Kobe together with public-interest association NEXT VISION (Vision Park, Kobe Eye Center) and, at this node, with Kansai Airports Kobe.
§ The challenge
An automated AGT and a plane, on the same app.
- 01
Close the final air-to-rail link
Kobe Airport Station (Port Liner P09) is linked to Kobe Airport by a covered walkway of about 100 m. It's the «transfer point» between two modes — plane and automated urban rail — where a blind person drags luggage, looks for the right platform and needs to identify exit, lift, toilets and validation machine without asking for help.
- 02
Side platforms with a single direction
As a terminus, every train departs for Sannomiya, but two platforms (1 and 2) are used alternately. NaviLens announces the active platform and destination before the traveller reaches the edge of the yellow tactile paving, avoiding boarding errors.
- 03
Coexisting with the other layers
Kobe Airport Station already has continuous tactile paving, braille tactile toilet maps, platform-screen doors and a staff-call service (係員呼出). NaviLens adds an information layer in 42 languages, readable from the cane and compatible with NaviLens GO on the large pictograms.
§ The solution
Tags wherever the traveller
has to decide.
NaviLens tags the green signs on the platform (1 for Sannomiya · for Kita Futo), the yellow signs for exit/escalator/lift, the zig-zag corridors, the men's and women's toilets with tactile map and the fare-adjustment machine (のりこし精算). The user opens the app and hears, at the angle of their cane, direction, platform, distance and service.
The same system continues along the covered walkway to the airport's «ポートライナー連絡口 / PORTLINER st. transfer exit» sign — without switching apps.
§ The milestone
«From airport to railway»
the world's first trial.
On 15 November 2023, a group of visually impaired people travelled Sannomiya → Port Liner → Kobe Airport Station → Kobe Airport terminal on a single app — NaviLens — across tags from Kobe's municipal subway (KMTB), the Port Liner network (KNT) and the airport (UKB).
Station P09 was the central node: the last railway platform before the plane and the first one on the way back. It was covered by Kobe Keizai News, Sun TV and the NaviLens Japan user community itself.
§ Timeline
From Port Liner terminus to air-to-rail hub.
2006
Kobe Airport (P09) station opens
The Port Liner opens the southern Shimin Hiroba ↔ Kobe Airport branch to link Port Island with the new UKB airport terminal, operated by Kobe New Transit (KNT).
Aug 2021
First NaviLens study at the airport
Kankō Keizai Shimbun reports on the first feasibility study to bring NaviLens to the Kobe Airport area — a precursor to the formal 2023 pilot.
28 Sep 2023
Official launch within Be Smart KOBE
Kansai Airports Kobe announces (PR Times) the start of the NaviLens pilot at T1 and at its Port Liner arrival station P09, with NPO Eye Collaboration Kobe and public-interest association NEXT VISION.
15 Nov 2023
World-first «from airport to railway» trial
The Sannomiya → Port Liner → Kobe Airport Station → Kobe Airport journey is completed on a single app, chaining tags from the municipal subway (KMTB), the Port Liner (KNT) and the airport (UKB). Coverage: Kobe Keizai News · Sun TV · ACI Asia-Pacific.
§ What they said
What Kansai Airports Kobe, KNT and the local press said.
“アイ・コラボレーション神戸（神戸市中央区）は15日、視覚障害者の移動支援アプリ「NaviLens（ナビレンズ）」を活用し、三宮〜神戸空港の移動で実証実験を実施した。空港ターミナルから鉄道（ポートライナー）まで連続して使う世界初の実験となった。”
“ポートライナー神戸空港駅を出て、神戸空港に入ったら、最初にスタッフ呼び出し用インターフォンがあります。久保田さんが体験された「空港入り口から、案内インターフォンまで」の動画が、ナビレンスのYoutubeで公開されました。”
“関西エアポート神戸株式会社は、2023年9月28日より視覚障害者支援アプリ「NaviLens」の実証実験を実施することをお知らせします。さらなるお客さまサービスの向上を目指します。”
§ Results
The piece that joins plane and train.
Readable station
Platforms 1 and 2, exits, lift, toilets and fare-adjustment machines with NaviLens
Air-to-rail bridge
Walkway Kobe Airport Station → T1 covered end to end with tags and NaviLens GO
Port Liner model
Pattern validated here and replicable across all 9 Port Liner stations (P01–P09)
§ And your network?
Your next station can also speak.
Tell us about your network, your pain points and the KPIs you want to move. We’ll show you how NaviLens would fit —with comparable cases.
