Heavy Snow Continues to Affect Shinkansen Services; Several Lines Delayed or Suspended (Update 1)

The Associated Press

8:19 JST, February 8, 2025 (updated at 12:02 JST, Feb. 8)

Heavy snow continued to affect Shinkansen bullet train services on Saturday, causing suspensions or delays starting in the morning.

Yamagata Shinkansen operations between Fukushima Station and Shinjo Station in Yamagata Prefecture have been suspended since services began on Saturday because a snow remover derailed near Takahata Station in the prefecture, according to East Japan Railway Co. The operator is aiming to resume services for that section of the line in the evening.

Joetsu Shinkansen services were temporarily suspended between Takasaki Station in Gunma Prefecture and Nagaoka Station in Niigata Prefecture in the morning so that a malfunctioning switch could be inspected at Jomo-Kogen Station in Gunma Prefecture. Services resumed at 7:51 a.m., according to JR East.

Tohoku Shinkansen services were also temporarily suspended for track inspections between Sendai and Morioka stations. They were resumed at 7:22 a.m.

Services on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines are now operating on delays of half an hour or more, as trains are reducing their speeds for their runs on some snow-affected sections, according to Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) and West Japan Railway Co. (JR West).