Photo/Illutration An artist’s rendering of a bench equipped with USB ports that allow users to recharge smartphones and other devices (Provided by Odakyu Electric Railway Co.)

Odakyu Line passengers will be able to recharge their smartphones and other devices on platform benches at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo starting on Jan. 29.

In its first such service, Odakyu Electric Railway Co. said it will replace 10 benches with ones equipped with USB ports on the No. 2 and 3 platforms at the station.

The new benches will bear a charging sign on their side to make them easily recognizable to foreign travelers.

Each new bench, measuring about 1.5 meters long, 45 centimeters tall and 40 cm deep, has four USB ports. People can recharge their battery-drained devices for free by connecting them to those ports.

Odakyu Electric Railway’s battery-recharging service will start ahead of an expected surge in tourists this year, particularly when Tokyo hosts the Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

“We’ll work hard to improve convenience (of our passengers),” a company official said.

The Romancecar on Odakyu Electric Railway’s limited express service uses the No. 2 and 3 platforms at Shinjuku Station and takes travelers to such sightseeing areas as Hakone-Yumoto Station and Katase-Enoshima Station.

According to the company, about 520,000 people a day use Shinjuku Station for the Odakyu Line.

Odakyu Electric Railway also provides free Wi-Fi services at some of its stations, inside the Romancecar, at facilities along the line and other places.

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