2 Akita Shinkansen trains, 490 passengers stranded; Services Resumed Monday Morning (UPDATE 1)

The Yomiuri Shimbun

11:31 JST, December 30, 2024 (updated at 15:00 JST)

Two Akita Shinkansen trains heading to Akita stopped and a total of about 490 passengers were left stranded following a power outage Sunday evening.

The power went out on a section of the line between Sashimaki Station on the JR Tazawako Line and Jinguji Station on the Ou Line at around 10:35 p.m. East Japan Railway Co. (JR East), which operates the trains, proceeded to evacuate about 260 passengers from the Komachi 43 train and about 230 from the Komachi 45 train.

According to the JR East Akita Branch Office, Komachi 43 stopped at Uguisuno Station, which is on the section that lost power, and the electricity and heating inside the train went out. Only part of the train was at the platform when it stopped, so passengers had to move to doors where the platform was accessible to exit. All of the passengers had gotten off the train and gone to a nearby station by taxi or other means by around 2:40 a.m. Monday.

Komachi 45, on the other hand, maintained its supply of electricity when it stopped at Tazawako Station. The passengers on that train began to be evacuated by bus to their desired stations after 8:10 a.m.

Services, which had been suspended between Morioka and Akita stations, resumed at around 9:10 a.m. on Monday for trains bound for Akita and at around 10:40 a.m. for those bound for Morioka.

“I picked this train to avoid the crowds, but it backfired,” said a 45-year-old female office worker from Sendai, who was aboard Komachi 45 on her way to her parents’ house in Akita.

At Akita Station, five trains bound for Morioka were canceled from the beginning of the day’s schedule, and the station was crowded even after services resumed, with passengers having to change tickets.

“I have plans with my family, so I want to get back today,” said a university junior, 21, from Akita, while standing in line at the ticket counter. He was heading to his family home in Miyagi Prefecture.

The branch office is investigating the cause of the power outage.