The operator of an automated train system in Yokohama, near Tokyo, says a data transmission glitch may have caused a train to move in the wrong direction.

On Saturday evening, a driverless train went into reverse and slammed into a buffer at Shin-Sugita, the terminal station on the Seaside Line, injuring 14 passengers.

Yokohama Seaside Line President Akihiko Mikami told reporters on Sunday that the company has not identified the cause of the accident.

Mikami said a device called an ATO at the station received signals that showed the direction of the train had been switched properly. Trains are equipped with the same device.

The operator suggests that a glitch in the system that transmits signals between the devices may have been the cause, because it did not find any problems with the train.

The fully automated Seaside Line has suspended services. The operator says it does not know when they can be resumed.

The transport ministry's Transport Safety Board has sent investigators to Yokohama to look into the accident.

Source: ANNnewsCH