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Safety is more than essential for these Japanese bullet-trains like this JR East E5 series pre-production shinkansen set S11 at Sendai General Shinkansen Depot. (Wikipedia, photographer: DAJF)
Tougher rail safety guidelines ordered in Japan
Published: Tue, 2015-04-14 07:00-
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Poles fell over the tracks
Japan's transport authorities have ordered a railway operator to improve its safety practices. This comes after power line poles were found to have collapsed over the tracks.
On early Sunday morning, metal poles about 7 meters long were found to have fallen onto the rails of the JR Yamanote Line. The loop line connects major areas in Tokyo.
The line's operator East Japan Railway suspended services on the Yamanote and Keihin Tohoku lines for more than 9 hours. The company says about 400-thousand people were affected.
Company officials said they had noticed the poles leaning two days before the accident.
But they thought it was not so urgent and decided to leave them in place until Monday.
A senior official from the transport ministry instructed the company to thoroughly ensure the safety of its operations. The official also told the firm to file a report on the cause of the collapse and take steps to prevent a recurrence.
An official in charge of safety at East Japan Railway said the company takes the trouble seriously and will swiftly send a report to authorities once it completes an investigation.
Source: Japan Railways
Av Markku Björkman
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