A power outage caused train services on multiple lines across Tokyo to be suspended on Friday morning, affecting approximately 673,000 people.
The suspension affected the inner and outer loops of East Japan Railway＊s Yamanote Line, the entire Keihin-Tohoku Line, and the section between Tokyo and Shinagawa stations on the Tokaido Line.
All services resumed in the early afternoon, but multiple JR lines across Tokyo experienced delays later in the day.
According to JR East, the firm discovered the power outage between Shimbashi and Shinagawa stations at around 3:50 a.m., when workers were preparing for the first service of the day. There appeared to be issues with electrical equipment near Tamachi Station, which sits on both the Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines.
While JR East hasn＊t publicly disclosed the cause of the power outage, the Metropolitan Police Department and the Tokyo Fire Department said a fire broke out at a transformer next to railroad tracks near Tamachi Station at a little before 8 a.m. Friday. The fire was extinguished 90 minutes later and no injuries were reported.
Authorities are investigating to determine if the two incidents are connected.
Some passengers were forced to get off trains and walk on railroad tracks following the fire, as the Keihin-Tohoku Line temporarily restarted in the morning before being suspended again. Five people were taken to a hospital as they felt sick while waiting inside trains, NHK reported.
The suspensions coincided with the morning rush hour, causing heavy congestion and widespread disruption at stations across the network. In addition to the many suspensions and delays, entry to JR platforms at certain major stations was restricted in response to a surge of commuters forced to take alternative routes.
Outside Ikebukuro Station, a long line formed at the taxi stand. A woman in her 60s who works as a consultant and was headed to Otsuka Station from Yokohama said she had not expected the disruption to last so long.
Crowding was also reported at Shinagawa Station. A man in his 50s from the city of Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture, who was in Tokyo on a business trip, said he had been caught up in the suspension while trying to reach Tamachi Station, where his sales office is located.
※I asked morning clients to reschedule for the afternoon,§ he said. ※It would take about an hour to walk, so I＊m torn about whether to take a taxi.§
A similar incident occurred in May, with all services on Yamanote Line suspended for hours early on a Friday morning due to wire trouble, affecting some 197,000 passengers.
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