Oct 17 - McClatchy-Tribune Business News Formerly Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Kaho Shimizu Japan Times, Tokyo

Every step taken through ticket gates at JR Tokyo Station now helps generate electricity.

East Japan Railway Co. started experimenting Monday with a device that converts vibrations from footsteps into electricity.

About 700,000 people use Tokyo Station every day, and JR East hopes to make good use of the energy commuters generate, especially during rush hour.

"Our ambition is to supply enough electricity for automatic ticket wickets and display panels in the future," JR East spokesman Takahiro Kikuchi said.

The generators are placed under the floor at six of the eight ticket gates in the Marunouchi North exit.

They can produce 70 to 100 milliwatts a second -- equivalent to the amount that can light a 70-watt or 100-watt bulb for one second -- when someone walks through the gate, according to the carrier.

With the experiment, which began at 4 a.m. and will run through, JR East will analyze the data to see if a constant source of electricity can be generated.

The amount of electricity created between 4 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday reached 3,600 watts a second, which can light a 100-watt bulb for 36 seconds, Kikuchi said.

"The amount is far short of the electricity needed to operate an automatic wicket," he said, and it is too early to say when JR East will be able to put the device to practical use.