TOKYO - Extensive railway disruption continued across Chiba Prefecture on September 23 as JR East warned that several lines damaged by Typhoon No. 25 would remain closed beyond the Silver Week holiday, even as flights returned toward normal, all typhoon-related expressway closures were lifted and some highway bus services resumed. The storm has left widespread damage to railway tracks and embankments, with flooding, landslides and fallen trees complicating restoration work.
By early afternoon, JR East had confirmed that the Uchibo Line between Anegasaki and Awa-Kamogawa, the entire Sotobo Line, and sections of the Sobu Main, Narita and Kururi lines would remain suspended throughout September 23. Several of the worst-affected sections are expected to remain closed from September 24, with no definite reopening dates announced.
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Inspections have identified widespread damage, including flooded tracks between Monoi and Sakura on the Sobu Main Line, soil deposited between Onuki and Sanukimachi on the Uchibo Line, between Katori and Suigo on the Narita Line, and between Gion and Kazusa-Kiyokawa on the Kururi Line.
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The Uchibo Line partially reopened with the first trains on September 23, restoring reduced services between Chiba and Anegasaki. However, the entire section from Anegasaki to Awa-Kamogawa remains closed for the day. The section between Anegasaki and Kisarazu is expected to remain suspended beyond September 24 because of extensive storm damage.
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The entire Sotobo Line between Chiba and Awa-Kamogawa also remains suspended. JR East has experienced difficulties restoring the section between Chiba and Honda, which it now expects to reopen from the first trains on September 24. No substitute buses are operating on the suspended line.
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On the Sobu Main Line, trains have resumed between Chiba and Sakura and between Naruto and Choshi, although services are operating at reduced frequency. The Sakura-Naruto section remains closed throughout September 23, and JR East expects the suspension to continue beyond September 24 because of damage to railway infrastructure.
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Services are also recovering in stages on the Narita Line. Trains between Chiba, Narita and Narita Airport are operating at reduced frequency, restoring an important airport connection after the severe disruption of September 22. Services between Narita and Sawara, Kioroshi and Narita, and Abiko and Araki have also resumed with fewer trains than usual.
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However, the Narita Line remains closed between Araki and Kioroshi and between Sawara and Choshi. The latter section is expected to remain suspended beyond September 24 because of extensive damage. Through services from the Narita Line to the Joban rapid line are also suspended throughout September 23.
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The Kururi Line between Kisarazu and Kazusa-Kameyama remains completely suspended, with no reopening date announced. The closure is expected to extend beyond September 24, and JR East is not providing replacement buses.
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The Togane Line between Oami and Naruto and the Kashima Line between Sawara and Kashima-Jingu have resumed operations at reduced frequency, providing some relief to communities in eastern Chiba.
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Limited express services remain severely affected. All scheduled Wakashio, Sazanami and Shiosai services have been canceled for September 23, leaving passengers without the usual express connections linking Tokyo with the Boso Peninsula and northeastern Chiba.
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Narita Express services, however, have returned to normal operation, restoring direct limited express connections between Narita Airport and major stations in central Tokyo and the surrounding metropolitan area. The recovery follows the cancellation of all Narita Express services on September 22 after flooding interrupted access to the airport.
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Highway travel has recovered much more rapidly. NEXCO East confirmed that all remaining typhoon-related expressway closures were lifted by 1:10 a.m. on September 23, when the Tateyama Expressway between Kisarazu-Minami Junction and Futtsu-Takeoka Interchange reopened. The announcement brought an end to the widespread expressway closures that had affected Chiba, Kanagawa, Ibaraki and other parts of Kanto since September 20.
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However, ordinary roads in southern Chiba remain affected by landslides and flooding. National Route 127 is still closed in parts of Futtsu and Kimitsu, including an area around Kanaya where a landslide damaged the road. Authorities have introduced a special arrangement allowing motorists to use designated sections of the Futtsu-Tateyama Road without paying tolls as an alternative to the closed national highway. The arrangement began at midnight on September 23 but does not cover every journey on the expressway.
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The lifting of expressway closures has allowed some highway bus operators to restore services. Nitto Kotsu resumed its Kimitsu-Tokyo route from the first departures on September 23, although the 7:21 a.m. departure from Kimitsu Station remained canceled.
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Other bus services remain badly affected. JR Bus Kanto canceled numerous September 23 departures on its Boso Nanohana and Shinjuku Nanohana routes connecting Tokyo and Shinjuku with Tateyama, Awa-Shirahama and other destinations in southern Chiba. The cancellations affect services in both directions, including departures that had been scheduled throughout the morning.
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Air travel, meanwhile, has largely recovered from the disruption of September 21, when ANA and Japan Airlines canceled at least 275 flights between them, mainly involving Haneda Airport, while Narita Airport recorded more than 100 cancellations.
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ANA listed no airports facing widespread weather-related disruption on September 23, while Japan Airlines reported no airports under its weather-related disruption warning for either domestic or international flights. Individual flight schedules may nevertheless be affected by earlier cancellations and changes to aircraft positioning.
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Marine transport serving the Izu Islands is also recovering. Tokai Kisen scheduled jetfoil and large passenger ship services between Tokyo and Oshima on September 23, while services to Niijima and Shikinejima were also operating or scheduled to depart. Some services remained subject to the possibility of being unable to dock because of sea and port conditions.
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The recovery remains uneven across the region. While flights, major expressways and much of Tokyo's rail network have returned toward normal, extensive damage to Chiba's conventional railway network is expected to continue affecting travel after the five-day Silver Week holiday ends on September 23.
The closure of several parallel routes is particularly serious for communities in the Boso Peninsula, where the Uchibo, Sotobo and Kururi lines are all unavailable. With no replacement buses on many suspended sections and some highway bus services also canceled, travelers have limited alternatives despite the reopening of major expressways.
JR East has warned that restoration work on several lines will take considerable time. Passengers traveling in Chiba from September 24 are being advised to check the latest operating information before departure, particularly on the Uchibo, Sobu Main, Narita and Kururi lines, where prolonged suspensions have already been announced.
Source: FNN
