TOKYO, Jan 17 (News On Japan) - JR East suspended services on the Yamanote Line and the Keihin-Tohoku Line for more than eight hours from the first trains of the day due to a power outage, severely disrupting the morning commute and affecting more than 673,000 passengers.
Inside some trains, ceiling lights went out, leaving cars dimly lit, while passengers said air conditioning also stopped, worsening conditions during the extended halt.
The disruption triggered crowding across the Tokyo metropolitan area, with large numbers of commuters spilling out of stations and onto surrounding streets, including around the area between JR Kawasaki Station and Keikyu Kawasaki Station, while stations such as Kawaguchi in Saitama Prefecture and Warabi also saw heavy congestion, prompting entry restrictions at some locations.
JR East said 15 people reported feeling unwell during the disruption, with one passenger describing how the windows fogged up from body heat and even buttons stopped responding.
Train operations resumed shortly after 1 p.m., and JR East said the outage was caused by electrical equipment installed as part of overnight improvement work near Tamachi Station, designed to prevent electric shocks, which prevented power from being supplied properly.
Source: TBS
