KYODO NEWS



 

A bullet train on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line made an emergency stop near a station in Tokyo on Thursday after two cars decoupled, leading to a 3-hour suspension of bullet train services in eastern Japan, the railway operator said.

The decoupling has raised safety concerns among the public, as a similar incident involving a train on the Hayabusa-Komachi service occurred last year in northeastern Japan, prompting transport safety authorities to launch an investigation.

"Through the transport ministry, we have ordered the train operators to determine the cause and implement preventive measures," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said, referring to JR East and JR Hokkaido. Bullet train services resumed later in the day.

 

The Hayabusa-Komachi train service, which consists of two linked trains, was found decoupled between Ueno and Omiya stations in the morning and was halted on a local commuter line near Nishinippori Station in Tokyo for inspection, the operator said.

At a press conference on Thursday, JR East said it would suspend all coupled Shinkansen operations until the issue is identified and countermeasures are in place.

The bullet train in question was carrying around 640 passengers at the time of the incident, but no one sustained injuries, according to the operator.