Simple errors by a contractor were the cause of delays on an overnight construction project that shut down the JR Chuo Line for eight hours late last month, East Japan Railway Co. said Tuesday.
JR East began the construction work to switch to elevated tracks between Mitaka and Tachikawa stations on the afternoon of Sept. 27. The work was scheduled to be completed by 6 a.m. the following day, at which time the trains were to resume operations.
But malfunctions in signal and warning systems near Musashikoganei Station prevented JR East from restarting full services until nearly 2 p.m., affecting some 180,000 people.