NEWSWORTHY
Minister calls for probe into fatal Kyushu shinkansen incident
The government has instructed West Japan Railway Co. to investigate why a driver of one of its bullet trains that hit and killed a man who had entered the tracks did not report hearing an abnormal sound at the time, Transport and Tourism Minister ...
Only three of 59 dangerous railroad crossings set to be fixed
Only three of 59 underequipped railroad crossings where accidents resulting in death or injury occurred over a five-year period are expected to be fixed.
Residents and train enthusiasts bade farewell to the Sanko Line on Saturday as JR West shut down the 108.1-km long route linking Shimane and Hiroshima prefectures on the final day of fiscal 2017. It was the first time a railway more than 100 km long ...
West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) will launch a Hello Kitty-themed bullet train on the Sanyo Shinkansen Line this summer, the railway operator says. A Kodama train featuring Sanrio Co.'s popular kitten character will consist of eight 500-series cars on the line that connects Osaka ...
Kawasaki Heavy Industries excessively ground down a steel component, likely causing the 16-cm crack discovered in December on the undercarriage of a shinkansen, JR West says
Sanyo Shinkansen Line halted in Okayama by boy walking on tracks
The Sanyo Shinkansen Line was brought to a halt near Okayama Station over the weekend after a boy was found walking along the tracks, West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) said. JR West said a station worker noticed that someone had entered the tracks at ...
Crew on bullet train with cracked undercarriage reported no abnormalities when handing over duties
Even though maintenance staff said earlier the train should be checked more closely, the crew of a shinkansen with a 16-centimeter crack in its undercarriage reported no abnormalities to the next crew.
Shinkansen halted in Nagoya after oil leak and cracked frame found
West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) reported what is the first recorded "serious incident," a designation in the transport ministry's accident-classification system introduced in 2001, on a shinkansen after a crack and oil leak were discovered underneath a running bullet train bound for Tokyo. "Serious ...
West Japan Railway Hotel Development Ltd., a hotel chain operator in western Japan, opened its first overseas branch in Singapore on Friday, in a bid to attract more tourists from Southeast Asia and Oceania to Japan. Amid a surge in visitors from the region to ...
Luxury sleeper train Mizukaze departs from Osaka on first run
West Japan Railway Co. launched its latest tourist draw Saturday, a 10-coach luxury sleeper train called a "hotel on wheels." Since February, when the plan was announced, the Twilight Express Mizukaze has proven popular even months before services began in western Japan. On Saturday morning, the ...
JR West derailment case has victims calling for legal reforms
The acquittal of former presidents of JR West over a tragic 2005 train derailment has prompted calls for legal reforms that would enable prosecutors to hold corporations criminally liable for causing large-scale accidents.
Top court upholds acquittal of ex-JR West heads over deadly 2005 derailment
Supreme Court ruling says former company presidents were not expected to recognize danger of the curve at the Hyogo Prefecture crash site.
