The April 25 tragic train crash on the West Japan Railway Co.'s Fukuchiyama Line in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, was the worst rail accident since Japanese National Railways was privatized in April 1987. It killed 106 passengers plus the driver, Ryujiro Takami, 23, and injured 555 others. Many bereaved family members and survivors are reportedly still suffering from traumas.
An interim report, announced Tuesday by the government's Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission, has disclosed a finding of erratic behavior on the part of the driver of the seven-car "rapid service" (express) train. A decisive factor was the driver's failure to slow down for a curve, which a commission official said led the train to tilt, derail and slam into a nine-story condominium building.
The commission pieced together the following sequence: