Train Services to Kansai Airport Resume 2 Weeks after Typhoon

September 18, 2018

Izumisano, Osaka Pref.- The railway on the bridge connecting Kansai International Airport on an artificial island in western Japan and the mainland went back into operations Tuesday, two weeks after a powerful typhoon caused a tanker to crash into the bridge.

West Japan Railway Co., or JR West, and Nankai Electric Railway Co. restarted their services on the railway from the day's first trains, greatly improving access to the airport in Osaka Prefecture.

The resumption of the train services is expected to support the airport's efforts for full service restoration. The airport, partly located in the city of Izumisano, is a major gateway to western Japan regions.

Driven by strong winds from Typhoon Jebi, the Houn Maru tanker crashed into the bridge on Sept. 4, causing damage to the structure, such as the distortion of bridge beams.

While the bridge beams were removed, no major damage was found on the rail tracks, according to sources including JR West. The two railway operators therefore moved up the resumption of their train services from the earlier planned Friday.

During the train suspension, JR West and Nankai Electric Railway offered free bus services to passengers traveling between the island airport and the opposite shore using unaffected lanes of roads on the bridge.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen when road lanes on the damaged side of the access bridge will go back into service.

West Nippon Expressway Co., or NEXCO-West, plans to install new bridge beams, aiming to make the roads fully passable again by the time next year's Golden Week holiday period starts in late April, according to the transport ministry.

The airport's Terminal 1, which is used by many airlines, is slated to fully reopen on Friday.

Customers arrived at the airport in droves via the railway on Tuesday. "I'm happy as I was able to come to the airport easily this time," said Eiko Inoue, a 72-year-old resident in the city of Sakai, Osaka, who was on her way to Tokyo with her daughter.

According to Inoue, the train services to the airport were suspended when she was going to Taiwan in July.

A 22-year-old woman heading for the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa, a major tourist destination, with a friend, said, "I would have had to leave my home an hour earlier if I was to take a bus."

"At last, I could come to work as the railway services restarted," Hiroshi Nakanishi, 70, a cargo worker at the airport, said.

Still, Nakanishi said he remains unable to work fully unless cargo trucks start to use the bridge again, voicing his hope that the roads will be completely reopened to traffic as soon as possible. Jiji Press