Hundreds spend night aboard snow-trapped train in Niigata

January 12, 2018

Niigata- Hundreds of passengers were forced to stay overnight aboard a snow-trapped train in Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, through Friday morning, with five of them claiming to be sick and one taken to a hospital, according to the train operator, local firefighters and other sources.

Apparently finding a snowbank ahead, the four-car train stopped near a crossing between Tokoji and Obiori stations on the Shinetsu Line of East Japan Railway Co., or JR East, shortly before 7 p.m. on Thursday (10 a.m. GMT).

Following snow removal work, the train started to move around 10:25 a.m. on Friday, more than 15 hours after it came to a halt.

There were about 430 passengers when the train was stranded. With some of them later picked up by their families and others, about 200 passengers were left in the train as of 9 a.m. on Friday.

The train had a larger number of passengers than usual as services on the line were disrupted by heavy snow on Thursday, and there were passengers without seats.

In the train, bathrooms were available and lighting and heaters were working. Water and emergency food were distributed to those on board.

JR East advised the passengers to stay in the train due to heavy snow, officials said.

In the nearby city of Nagaoka, 46 centimeters of snowfall was logged in the 24 hours through 7 p.m. on Thursday, according to the Niigata Local Meteorological Office.

At a press conference in Tokyo on Friday, transport minister Keiichi Ishii said the government has instructed JR East to find out why it had taken such a long time to rescue the passengers, and to take preventive measures. Jiji Press