Japan’s Tohoku Shinkansen Bullet Train Cars Decouple While Moving; Services between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori resume (Update 2)

10:13 JST, September 19, 2024 (updated at 16:45 JST)

The Yomiuri Shimbun

A Tokyo-bound Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train was forced to make an emergency stop after the coupler joining two cars became disconnected while it was running between Furukawa and Sendai stations in Miyagi Prefecture at about 8:07 a.m. on Thursday.

The service, Hayabusa Komachi No. 6, consists of two Shinkansen trains — a Hayabusa with 10 cars and a Komachi with seven cars — connected by the coupler. With the stoppage, Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train services between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori stations were suspended for about five hours in both directions and resumed at 1:12 p.m.

According to East Japan Railway Co. (JR East), there were about 200 passengers on the Hayabusa and about 120 on the Komachi, with no report of passengers getting injured or becoming ill following the emergency stop. The trains did not derail, and the air conditioning systems continued to work normally.

The Komachi came from Akita Station to Morioka Station and connected with the Hayabusa. Together they departed Morioka at 7:37 a.m. The coupler became disconnected about 30 minutes later.

Apparently, this is the first time for a coupler of a Shinkansen train to become disconnected while the train was moving. JR East will inspect the train cars and investigate the cause of the disconnection.