Power outage halts bullet trains in eastern Japan

Very unusual.

Services have been suspended between Tokyo and Sendai stations on the Tohoku line, Tokyo and Echigo-Yuzawa on the Joetsu line, and Tokyo and Nagano on the Hokuriku line, it said.

There's a decent chance that services to Nagano and Niigata will also be affected by snow tonight. There's a good chance of disruption on expressways too like the Kan'etsu, so folks could be stranded for a while.

Up to a meter has been forecast, a fair bit of it in relatively snow free places like south Nagano where the snow clearing crews are not Yukiguni level. That hilly expressway near Karuizawa for example.

Unfortunately, the reality of what Bib said was quite possibly the guy(s) working on the lines actually exploded.

It happened before in Florida with a guy working on a High Tension Line of 20,000V. Wonder how much power we’re talking about here.

Shinkansens use 25,000 V which is so high that shortening it by the life wire touching the ground or someone on the ground would release enormous power.

BTW, most streets in Japan have 6,600V running through them - these are the one, two or three cables on the top of poles. Unlike the overhead cables of trains, they are insulated, but still not exactly safe in case the poles fall...

The JR Kobe-Osaka-Kyoto line had major service disruptions most of the day, as well. Weird rail vibes all over, today.

Shouldn't the wires be switched off if someone is working on them?

I still suspect it's sabotage or terrorism.

Apparently there is so much power running through these wires that you don't have to actually touch them to get electrocuted, an expert was saying on TV last night. He reckoned that there must have been a serious communications breakdown between the workers.

Garypen

Ruddy hell bruv, that line has disruptions all the time. It's been diabolical for the last 15 years or so.

Now I'm on Shinkansen with my son from Nagoya to Shin Osaka, huge delays! Heavy snow in Maibara area apparently, what a shame we are both soooo tired after a long day out.