Shinkansen Train Canceled Due to Smoke From Smartphone; Device Discovered Before Passengers Boarded

The Yomiuri Shimbun

11:52 JST, November 14, 2023

Smoke from a smartphone forced the cancellation of the Asama 605 train on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line Tuesday morning, East Japan Railway Co. has announced.

The Asama 605 was scheduled to depart from Tokyo Station at 9:04 a.m., bound for Nagano. As the train was being cleaned before boarding, however, a smartphone with smoke coming out of it was discovered in one of the cars. The smoke soon stopped but the car was filled with smoke at that point, forcing the train’s operation to be canceled.

The travel of 900 passengers was affected. The train had arrived in Tokyo that same morning from Nagano, operating as the Asama 606.

According to JR East, the owner of the smartphone was unknown as of 10 a.m. Tuesday.