Shinkansen breaks down, causes all-day commuter chaos at Tokyo Station

Jan 01, 2019 | News On Japan

Jan 01, 2019 (soranews24.com) - Thousands stranded for hours during Japanâ€™s peak holiday travel period.

As we edge closer towards the New Year, roads and public transport systems around Japan are now working at full capacity as people travel back to their hometowns to celebrate the most important holiday of the year with their families.

With so many people travelling at the moment, any breakdown or delay can quickly become a big problem, creating huge crowds and inconveniencing thousands of people in a short period of time.

So when the driver of the Tohoku and Yamagata-bound Yamabiko with Tsubasa 177 Shinkansen bullet train was unable to release the emergency brake at Tokyo Station at 9:50 a.m. on 30 December, the breakdown resulted in massive crowds.

According to reports, the Shinkansen that broke down couldnâ€™t be moved from its position at platform 23 for over an hour-and-a-half, which meant that other bullet trains heading in and out of the station were also affected.

According to East Japan Railway Company, which operates the five affected Shinkansen lines, approximately 228,700 passengers were affected by the incident, with delays or suspensions on roughly 376 routes as a result.

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