Full Kyushu Shinkansen Restoration Remains Unclear after Quake

Fukuoka, July 30 (Jiji Press)–It remained unclear Thursday when services will be restored on all sections of the Kyushu Shinkansen bullet train line in southwestern Japan after a suspension caused by a powerful earthquake that struck Kumamoto Prefecture in the region Tuesday. Kyushu Railway Co., or JR Kyushu, plans to operate a reduced number of trains between Hakata Station in Fukuoka Prefecture and Kumamoto Station on the line from Friday morning, while services between Kumamoto Station and Kagoshima-Chuo Station in Kagoshima Prefecture will remain halted. Due to the temblor, which measured up to 7, the highest level on Japan’s seismic intensity scale, rail joints near Shin-Yatsushiro Station in Kumamoto Prefecture shifted by more than 50 centimeters, and elevated tracks sustained damage, according to the company. Damage such as collapsed noise barriers has been confirmed at more than 200 locations. Persistent aftershocks have delayed restoration work, JR Kyushu said. “We have never experienced damage on this scale before,” JR Kyushu Managing Corporate Officer Michiya Sadakari, a board director, told a press conference Wednesday. The company will work with experts to investigate the damage and restore affected facilities, he said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]