T2 Establishes 'Transgate' Facilities in Kanagawa and Kobe to Switch Between Unmanned and Manned Autonomous Truck Operations
T2 Inc. has established its first transition bases, 'Transgate Ayase' and 'Transgate Kobe Nishi,' for switching between Level 4 unmanned highway driving and manual road driving, aiming for full-scale autonomous freight services by FY2027.
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- 📰 Published: April 24, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 24, 2026 at 10:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 24, 2026 at 11:09 (37 min after Collected)
T2 Inc. (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Masatomo Kumabe), aiming to realize trunk transport services using Level 4 autonomous trucks, has established transition bases (hereinafter referred to as 'Transgates') where unmanned highway driving and manned surface road driving are switched. These bases, 'Transgate Ayase' in Ayase City, Kanagawa Prefecture, and 'Transgate Kobe Nishi' in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, are the first of their kind for a logistics provider in Japan near expressways.
T2 aims to achieve trunk transport services using Level 4 autonomous trucks in fiscal year 2027. Since 2025, it has already commercialized Level 2 autonomous truck operations, expanding its user base to 11 companies. These commercial operations currently take place on sections of highways connecting the Kanto and Kansai regions.
Looking toward Level 4, 'transition bases' are necessary for drivers to embark and disembark when switching between unmanned highway driving and manned driving on general roads connecting ICs and customer logistics centers. Consequently, 'Transgate Ayase' was established near the Tomei Expressway Ayase Smart IC, and 'Transgate Kobe Nishi' was set up near the Sanyo Expressway Kobe Nishi IC. The name 'Transgate' combines 'Trans' (switching between unmanned/manned) and 'Gate' (the entrance to future logistics).
Transgate Ayase consists of two spaces on either side of the Tomei Expressway, handling departures to and arrivals from Kansai. Together, these spaces can accommodate up to six trucks at once and include trailer houses for driver standby. Transgate Kobe Nishi integrates departure and arrival into a single space, accommodating up to seven trucks.
Specifications:
- Transgate Ayase: Completed April 2026, located in Ayase City, Kanagawa, approx. 2,000m², capacity for 6 trucks, 80m from Ayase Smart IC.
- Transgate Kobe Nishi: Completed February 2026, located in Nishi-ku, Kobe, approx. 1,800m², capacity for 7 trucks, 400m from Kobe Nishi IC.
On April 22, 15 member companies of the 'L4 Truck Operation Conference' visited Transgate Ayase to confirm operational procedures for switching driving modes. Officials from Ayase City also inspected the site, expressing expectations that T2's efforts would help solve the logistics crisis and revitalize local industry.
In March this year, T2 successfully completed a 500km autonomous run between Ayase and Kobe Nishi without any manual intervention using Level 2 trucks. Moving forward, T2 will accelerate technical development to expand autonomous operations to include complex toll gate passages and the surface roads connecting toll gates to Transgates, alongside establishing robust transport operation systems for Level 4 implementation.
T2 aims to achieve trunk transport services using Level 4 autonomous trucks in fiscal year 2027. Since 2025, it has already commercialized Level 2 autonomous truck operations, expanding its user base to 11 companies. These commercial operations currently take place on sections of highways connecting the Kanto and Kansai regions.
Looking toward Level 4, 'transition bases' are necessary for drivers to embark and disembark when switching between unmanned highway driving and manned driving on general roads connecting ICs and customer logistics centers. Consequently, 'Transgate Ayase' was established near the Tomei Expressway Ayase Smart IC, and 'Transgate Kobe Nishi' was set up near the Sanyo Expressway Kobe Nishi IC. The name 'Transgate' combines 'Trans' (switching between unmanned/manned) and 'Gate' (the entrance to future logistics).
Transgate Ayase consists of two spaces on either side of the Tomei Expressway, handling departures to and arrivals from Kansai. Together, these spaces can accommodate up to six trucks at once and include trailer houses for driver standby. Transgate Kobe Nishi integrates departure and arrival into a single space, accommodating up to seven trucks.
Specifications:
- Transgate Ayase: Completed April 2026, located in Ayase City, Kanagawa, approx. 2,000m², capacity for 6 trucks, 80m from Ayase Smart IC.
- Transgate Kobe Nishi: Completed February 2026, located in Nishi-ku, Kobe, approx. 1,800m², capacity for 7 trucks, 400m from Kobe Nishi IC.
On April 22, 15 member companies of the 'L4 Truck Operation Conference' visited Transgate Ayase to confirm operational procedures for switching driving modes. Officials from Ayase City also inspected the site, expressing expectations that T2's efforts would help solve the logistics crisis and revitalize local industry.
In March this year, T2 successfully completed a 500km autonomous run between Ayase and Kobe Nishi without any manual intervention using Level 2 trucks. Moving forward, T2 will accelerate technical development to expand autonomous operations to include complex toll gate passages and the surface roads connecting toll gates to Transgates, alongside establishing robust transport operation systems for Level 4 implementation.