673,000 affected as Tokyo’s Yamanote loop line halted by power outage
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TOKYO - Tokyo’s Yamanote Line fully resumed train services on the afternoon of Jan 16 after a power outage stopped the vital part of the capital’s transportation network from the day’s first scheduled run, with the disruption affecting around 673,000 people, the operator JR East said.
It said the power outage occurred around 3.50am local time, likely due to an issue with an electrical facility serving a section between Shimbashi and Shinagawa stations in central Tokyo.
While trains on the Keihin-Tohoku Line, which runs parallel to the Yamanote loop line on part of its route, were initially running, services were also stopped due to the outage and delays caused on other lines in Tokyo and its vicinity.
On the Keihin-Tohoku Line, the power outage left passengers on trains stranded between stations. They were later asked to get off and move to the nearest stations on foot.
The Tokyo fire department said 10 people in their 20s to 60s complained of nausea, breathlessness and other health issues, and five of them were sent to the hospital.
Ms Yasuko Yoshida, a 51-year-old company employee from Yokohama, said the Keihin-Tohoku Line train she was on stopped between Takanawa Gateway and Tamachi stations.
The train did not move for more than an hour, and with the air conditioning cut off, some passengers on the train started to take off jackets, said Ms Yoshida after walking on the tracks to Tamachi Station.
“I wonder what would have happened if I had urgent work to do,” she said. “I hope it doesn’t affect those taking the unified university entrance exams tomorrow.”
Services on the line resumed in the early afternoon.
As an emergency step, JR East ran extra services on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line between Tokyo and Omiya in Saitama Prefecture.
Power supply to the facility was shut off during the night due to ongoing work on infrastructure at Tamachi Station between Shimbashi and Shinagawa, and the operator was unable to restore it before the first train of the day, it said.
A fire was also reported at an electrical facility near Tamachi Station at around 8am local time, according to police and the fire department. It was extinguished around 90 minutes later.
Whether the fire and the power outage are related remains unclear, they said.
Transport minister Yasushi Kaneko said at a press conference he ordered JR East to investigate the cause of the incident and prevent a recurrence. KYODO NEWS, REUTERS
