Shinkansen Services Suspended After Man ‘Searches for Phone’ on Tracks; Disruption Affects About 14,000 Passengers

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:07 JST, April 14, 2024

Services on the Tokaido Shinkansen were temporarily suspended Saturday night after a man who said he dropped his smartphone walked onto the tracks at JR Shizuoka Station in Shizuoka City.

A station staff member found the man entering the tracks at around 9:35 p.m. on Saturday and pressed the emergency button, leading to the suspension of services.

According to service operator Central Japan Railway Co., known as JR Tokai, the incident caused 17 trains to be delayed by up to 37 minutes on both inbound and outbound lines, affecting about 14,000 passengers.

According to the local police, the man who entered the track is a Buddhist monk from Yamanashi Prefecture. in his 30s. The police also said that the man could not find his phone and returned to the platform by himself.