Thousands stranded as bullet trains grind to a halt in Japan

Nearly 140,000 New Year rail passengers were left stranded in Japan today after more than 250 high-speed bullet trains were grounded by a computer glitch.

The delays are extremely embarrassing for the punctuality-obsessed bosses of the network, who offer a full refund to travellers if trains are more than five minutes late.

The trouble came a day after heavy snow and strong winds separately forced the company to suspend 35 bullet train services, also in eastern and northern Japan, affecting more than 30,000 passengers.

The bullet train system in Japan was grounded for three hours today due to a computer glitch

The glitch occurred after railway officials worked all night to input data into the company’s computer system in order to reschedule trains.

‘We are investigating whether there was a problem with the system itself or the way in which we made the input,’ a spokesman for Japan Railways Group said.

A total of 112 trains were cancelled and 146 others were delayed, affecting 137,000 passengers, the company said.

Travellers were forced onto later trains that became crowded as a result, witnesses said.

‘The aisles and door areas were jam-packed with people, so much so that it was impossible to get to the toilets. I was really worn out,’ a young man told public broadcaster NHK after his train arrived at Tokyo’s central station.

New Year’s Day is the most important holiday of the year for many Japanese, who pack trains and planes as they travel across the country to spend time with loved ones.

There were long queues of people late into the afternoon at Tokyo Station, waiting to change their reservations or buy tickets.

The bullet train - or Shinkansen - was introduced as the world’s fastest rail service in the run-up to the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, showcasing Japan’s technological prowess as it rebuilt after the Second World War.





