Fried slug blamed by JR Kyushu for railway chaos in southern Japan
A slug has been blamed for a power outage that halted dozens of trains and delayed 12,000 passengers in the Kyushu region, operator Kyushu Railway Co. (JR Kyushu) has said. Power failed on a couple of lines serving the area operated by JR Kyushu on ...
A year after stabbing, Japan's shinkansen wrestle with balance between safety and convenience
A year after a knife attack on a bullet train left one passenger dead and two wounded, authorities and railways are trying to take steps — especially visible ones — to prevent similar crimes. Experts are calling to start baggage inspections at train stations, though ...
Japan's labor crunch provides opportunities for more women to take the wheel
From moving companies to taxi and train operators, Japanese firms have been recruiting more female drivers amid a serious labor shortage that is hitting the service sector particularly hard. But taking steps to support female drivers has become a critical challenge for companies, as many ...
No injuries reported after Yokohama Municipal Subway train derails
A Yokohama Municipal Subway Blue Line train departing Shimoiida Station derailed early Thursday morning with about 130 people on board. No injuries were reported. The first train of the day went off the tracks at about 5:25 in the morning shortly after departing Shimoiida Station ...
East Japan Railway Co., or JR East, has announced a plan to test new electric-powered trains using hydrogen fuel cells from fiscal 2021. The railway operator will spend about ¥4 billion on the development of a two-car setup and test runs, aiming to commercialize such ...
Shinkansen operator JR Central eyes own cleaning 'miracle' as it competes with rival
In a move to better compete with a rival train operator's famous "7-minute miracle" for cleaning a shinkansen between its arrival and departure, Central Japan Railway Co. will shave off two minutes from its own bullet train cleaning work, beginning next spring. JR Central plans ...
Automated train in Yokohama crash continued moving 1 meter after slamming into buffer
The accident occurred at Shin-Sugita Station on the Kanazawa Seaside Line. Of the 14 passengers hurt, six sustained serious injuries.
The government said Wednesday it will extend ¥132.7 billion (about $1.2 billion) in loans to Bangladesh to help the South Asian nation improve its infrastructure. "We will work together for the development of Bangladesh and beyond and achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific region," Prime ...
Stop it! Tokyo police anti-groper app becomes smash hit in Japan
A Tokyo police smartphone app to scare off molesters has become a smash hit in Japan, where women have long run the gauntlet of groping on packed rush-hour trains. Victims of groping can activate the Digi Police app, which either blasts out a voice shouting ...
AI robot duo to guide visitors during test trial at Tokyo Station
East Japan Railway Co. on Wednesday showed the media a test trial of two artificial intelligence robots designed to guide passengers at Tokyo Station. The robots — Pepper of SoftBank Robotics Corp. and SEMMI of German railway company Deutsche Bahn AG — were deployed at ...
Train to nowhere? California's high-speed rail plan looking more like a pipe dream
Keith Erwin was about to buy the land that his auto repair shop sits on when he was turned down because California's much awaited high-speed rail line was going to pass through the spot. Five years later, he sees no train coming anytime soon and ...
Fabled Orient Express train may return to Europe's rails again
It conjures up the atmosphere of rail travel from a bygone golden age, steaming through Europe experiencing top-notch cuisine and the company of fellow passengers who could be writers or spies. And who knows, maybe a mysterious murder along the way deep in the night ...
