Tokyo’s Yamanote Line Temporarily Halted on Power Outage

Tokyo, Jan. 16 (Jiji Press)–East Japan Railway Co.’s busy Yamanote Line in Tokyo was temporarily halted on all sections Friday because of a predawn power outage that occurred due to an apparent problem at an electrical facility. Both the clockwise and counterclockwise services of the loop line were suspended from the day’s first trains due to the outage, which happened between Shinbashi and Shinagawa stations, according to the firm, better known as JR East. Services were fully suspended also for the Keihin-Tohoku Line, which shares some sections with the Yamanote Line. Train operations resumed by 12:45 p.m. for the counterclockwise service of the Yamanote Line and the Keihin-Tohoku Line and at 1:08 p.m. for the clockwise service of the loop line. With the service disruption hitting the morning rush hour, affected stations were packed with passengers including commuters. The power outage was found around 3:50 a.m., during inspections before the start of the day’s services, between Shinbashi and Shinagawa, JR East said. A problem is believed to have happened at an electrical facility near Tamachi Station, which is served by both lines. According to police and fire authorities, there was a report shortly before 8 a.m. that a fire broke out from equipment placed by the tracks near Tamachi. The fire was extinguished about an hour and a half later. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]