OSAKA - Shinkansen bullet train services in western Japan were suspended for more than five hours from the first train of the day due to a power outage Thursday morning, affecting around 21,400 people, a railway operator said.
The electrical outage occurred at around 5.30am (3.30am Thailand time), resulting in a total of 50 bullet train services being cancelled or partially cancelled between Hiroshima and Hakata stations on the Sanyo Shinkansen line. A hundred other train services were delayed up to around four hours, according to West Japan Railway Co.
The trouble was due to defects in several insulating components installed between wall and overhead wires in a tunnel between Asa and Shin-Shimonoseki stations in Yamaguchi Prefecture, the train operator JR West said.
The suspension also affected train operations on the Tokaido Shinkansen line which connects Shin-Osaka and Tokyo stations.
Business travellers overflowed at Hakata, Hiroshima and Shin-Osaka stations, queuing up to change tickets or get refunds at service counters. Some passengers gave up on the delayed trains and instead took flights to their destinations.