Japan’s Shinkansen bullet trains decouple while moving in first such incident
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A photo shows two Tokyo-bound Shinkansen trains disconnected after a coupler joining them detached on Sept 19.
PHOTO: JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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TOKYO – A Shinkansen bullet train service was forced to make an emergency stop after its two linked trains uncoupled while it was running.
The train service was travelling between Furukawa and Sendai stations in Miyagi prefecture early in the morning on Sept 19 when the incident happened.
East Japan Railway (JR East) said it was the first time that two linked trains uncoupled while moving. It said it would inspect the trains and investigate the cause of the disconnection.
The service, Hayabusa Komachi No. 6, consists of two Shinkansen trains – a Hayabusa with 10 cars and a Komachi with seven cars – connected by a 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 only at around 1pm.
According to JR East, there were about 200 passengers on the Hayabusa and some 120 on the Komachi. There were no reports of passengers getting injured or becoming ill.
The trains did not derail, it said, and the air-conditioning systems continued to work normally.
The Shinkansen trains (pictured in a file photo) are icons for Japan as a pioneer in high-speed rail globally. JR East said of the Sept 19 incident that it was the first time that two linked trains uncoupled while moving.
PHOTO: AFP
JR East said the coupler linking the trains was controlled by a programme that allows it to detach when trains slow down to a speed of 5kmh or less.
The trains were connected at Morioka station and were headed to Tokyo when the incident happened.
NHK reported the train’s driver as saying he did not hear any abnormal noise or noticed any shaking before the coupler detached, but that the emergency brake was suddenly applied. JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
