Jakarta –
A power outage on the train network in Tokyo disrupted the journey of hundreds of thousands of passengers. Trains on the Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines belonging to East Japan Railway (JR East) were stopped for hours.
The two main lines that serve some of the busiest stations in the world stopped operating for nine hours on Friday (16/1/2025) morning local time. Operators said around 673,000 passengers were affected by the disruption.
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JR East explained that the disruption occurred because electricity was not restored after overnight maintenance work at Tamachi Station, Tokyo. As a result, the two lines did not receive electricity supply on Friday morning.
“Smoke was seen coming from a toolbox on the side of the track near the station,” said a JR East spokesperson as reported by Reuters, Friday (16/1/2025).
A number of passengers had to be evacuated from the train. They were seen getting off the Keihin-Tohoku train which stopped between stations, then walking along the tracks with the help of firefighters and train staff.
Meanwhile, photos and videos circulating on social media show the density of passengers at a number of stations. The Yamanote Line is known to cross major stations such as Shinjuku which serves around 3.5 million passengers per day. The Keihin-Tohoku Line connects important city centers, including Tokyo and Yokohama.
(dek/dek)
