East Japan Railway Extends Suspension of Coupled Shinkansen Trains
East Japan Railway Company (JR East) has announced that the suspension of coupled Shinkansen train services will be extended until Friday, October 27th. This decision comes after a serious incident involving the Hayabusa-Komachi No. 21 combined train on the Tohoku Shinkansen line, which decoupled while running.
JR East is still investigating the cause of the decoupling and will announce plans for services after Saturday as soon as they are finalized. In the meantime, Tsubasa trains on the Yamagata Shinkansen line are operating only between Fukushima and Shinjo stations, with only the last train to Tokyo and the first train from Tokyo running each day. All other services to and from Tokyo on this line remain suspended.
Similarly, Komachi trains on the Akita Shinkansen line are operating only between Morioka and Akita stations. Direct services to and from Tokyo on this line are also unavailable.
JR East initially planned to suspend coupled Shinkansen services until Sunday, October 22nd. However, the extension is necessary as the cause of the decoupling remains unidentified. To accommodate the expected increase in passengers on Sunday, the company will operate additional trains on the Tohoku Shinkansen line.
6 Comments
Africa
Proud JR East is prioritizing passenger lives by fully investigating such incidents before resuming regular services.
Bella Ciao
We must trust engineers and experts. JR East’s extension of suspension means they’re doing a careful job.
Muchacho
Appreciate JR East’s transparency and consistent updates despite a difficult situation.
Habibi
Unacceptable lack of transparency. I’m losing patience with JR East's constant delays!
Bella Ciao
Poor management! How long does it really take to identify the cause of one incident?
KittyKat
Perhaps JR East should have put more effort into preventive maintenance to avoid these issues.