It's a scenario that would seem to be destined to end in disaster: A large earthquake strikes as a bullet train zips along elevated tracks at speeds of around 300 kilometers per hour.
But when a train on the Tohoku Shinkansen line derailed late Wednesday after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck off Japan's northeastern coast, none of the 75 passengers or three crew members were injured.
Operator East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) says that safety measures introduced after a similar incident in the past helped prevent a catastrophe earlier this week when 16 of the 17 train cars derailed on a viaduct in Shiroishi, Miyagi Prefecture.