A beam traversing the Yamanote Line that was removed as part of an equipment upgrade could have destabilized two cable poles blamed for Sunday's major disruption of train service in central Tokyo, East Japan Railway Co. said Monday.
The beam, which was removed sometime after March 25, had connected two poles used to support an overhead cable between Kanda and Akihabara stations, the railway better known as JR East said. The poles were spotting leaning two days earlier, but the railway decided to delay action until Monday after deeming them unlikely to fall immediately.
The collapse of the poles disrupted service for nearly 10 hours on one of the most critical lines in the capital. Why they began leaning in the first place is not yet understood.