Tokyo-Osaka bullet train services partially suspended

Bullet train services between Tokyo and Osaka were partially suspended Monday due to an accident involving the overnight collision of two railway maintenance vehicles, the operator said, which caused disruptions for many travelers and crowding at train stations.

Services on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line could be suspended for all of Monday as restoration work is expected to continue until the evening, Central Japan Railway Co. said.

Trains were halted between Nagoya and Hamamatsu, while operations was resumed between Tokyo and Hamamatsu, and Nagoya and Shin-Osaka with about two trains per hour on each of the lines, the operator said.

A crowd forms outside the ticket gates at JR Shin-Yokohama Station, near Tokyo, after shinkansen bullet train services were suspended between Tokyo and Nagoya due to a derailment involving two maintenance vehicles. (Photo courtesy of a passenger)(Kyodo)

In response to the incident, All Nippon Airways Co. provided an extra round-trip flight between Tokyo’s Haneda airport and Osaka’s Itami airport for Monday afternoon, with seats becoming fully booked shortly after reservations began, the airline said.

Major train stations were crowded with stranded passengers seeking to change their tickets and making inquiries to station staff as the incident took place when the summer vacation season just started in Japan.

The operator called on travelers to avoid affected stations until services fully resume and to consider changing their travel plans, including rescheduling them for a later date.

At Tokyo Station, a 72-year-old woman from the capital’s Koto Ward said she was planning to visit her ailing mother in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, in western Japan.

“I’ve been looking forward to see her for the first time in six months. I can’t to wait to get there and see her happy face. I hope to visit her as soon as possible, even if its tomorrow.”

Takahiro Sasaki, a 59-year-old man from Tokyo’s Suginami Ward, was stranded at Nagoya Station when he tried to board a bullet train to return home with his family after a trip to Aichi Prefecture.

“I wonder when trains resume services, as I have to work tomorrow,” he said. “We encountered a terrible mishap at the end of our trip.”

Photo taken in Gamagori, Aichi Prefecture, on July 22, 2024, shows a maintenance train that derailed on the Tokaido Shinkansen tracks between Toyohashi and Mikawa-Anjo stations. (Kyodo)

Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter on the morning of July 22, 2024, in Aichi Prefecture’s Gamagori shows the scene where two maintenance trains collided and derailed on the Tokaido Shinkansen tracks between Toyohashi and Mikawa-Anjo stations. (Kyodo)

At Nagoya Station, entry to platforms was restricted, while over 100 people lined up for ticket refunds.

The maintenance vehicle accident, which caused a derailment, occurred around 3:40 a.m. between Toyohashi and Mikawa-Anjo stations in Aichi Prefecture, injuring two maintenance workers, though their injuries are not life-threatening.

The Tokaido Shinkansen Line connects the cities of Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka that constitute Japan’s three largest metropolitan areas.

Services on the Sanyo Shinkansen Line connecting Shin-Osaka and Hakata in Fukuoka Prefecture were also delayed due to the accident.

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