Tokyo Trains' Hours-Long Shutdown Raises Questions of Management Priorities

Why is it that even after the advent of more nimble modes of transportation that can travel long distances in a short period of time, such as automobiles and airplanes, railways remain the core of passenger transportation in Japan, Europe, and many other countries? It boils down to the fact that trains are superior in their ability to quickly and very safely transport many passengers at the same time. Moreover, Japanese railways are unrivaled in terms of punctuality.

However, the railway myth of train reliability has now been shaken.

On January 16, a power outage on the JR Yamanote Line and Keihin-Tohoku Line in the Tokyo area caused service to be suspended for hours. This began with the first train that day (around 4:30 AM) and lasted until around 1:00 PM. The stoppage affected approximately 670,000 commuters and students.

What Happened

Apparently, the power outage happened following the completion of overnight maintenance work. A substation tried to transmit power to the Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines for operation of the workday's first trains.

The Keihin-Tohoku Line resumed operations at 7:22 AM on the same day. However, 26 minutes later, the power went out again, stranding two trains. Meanwhile, the Keihin Kyuko Line and subway lines had to detour. But they ended up so crowded that movement at Shinagawa Station, where many lines converge, was temporarily paralyzed.

During the JR Yamanote Line and Keihin-Tohoku Line suspension, passengers disembarked from the Keihin-Tohoku Line train, which had stopped between stations, and walked toward Hamamatsucho Station. (©Sankei by Shiro Harada)

Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Yasushi Kaneko declared, "[The company involved] needs to be aware that this is public transportation we are talking about and take every possible measure to ensure safe and stable rail transport."

Kaneko was right to strongly demand that JR East investigate the power outage cause and prevent a recurrence.

False Savings from Cutting Costs

JR East has said it will reduce railway operating costs by ￥100 billion JPY ($632.5 million USD) compared to FY2026. They intend to achieve this cost-cutting by FY2027. Toward this goal, it initiated single-operator ("one man") trains on its Nambu Line and certain other lines in March 2025. However, delays exceeding 10 minutes doubled on the Nambu Line, especially during the morning rush hour.

JR East's plans call for a phased introduction of single-operator trains on the Yokohama Line, Keihin-Tohoku Line, and Chuo-Sobu Line. These are all heavily traveled commuter lines. However, if delays during rush hours become a regular occurrence, as they now are on the Nambu Line, that will undermine the trust of passengers.

This March, JR East is set to implement its first major fare hike since privatization in 1987. (This excludes exceptional cases like consumption tax hikes.) Since passengers are being asked to bear a greater burden, revenue from the fare increase should be earmarked for ensuring safety and punctuality.

Focus on Core Railway Operations

It may be natural for the various privately owned JR companies to focus on their real estate and in-station businesses. These help secure the companies' profits. Nevertheless, JR East has experienced several failures and is just one mistake away from inevitably causing a major accident. For example, in September 2024, a coupler came off a bullet train while it was in motion on the Tohoku Shinkansen line.

We urge management at all railroad companies to bear in mind that neglecting the core business of railway operations will result in the loss of trust, not only from users but also from shareholders.

(Read the editorial in Japanese.)

Author: Editorial Board, The Sankei Shimbun