| Date of accident |
accident name |
Details of the accident |
| February 09, 1950 |
Shonan train fire accident |
A test train of Series 80 train (14 cars) was running between Hodogaya and Totsuka stations on the Tokaido Main Line when an electric arc was emitted from the pantograph of the 13th car, Moha 80027. The car and MOHA 80027 next to it caught fire and was destroyed. The cause was presumed to be that the pantograph was grounded by the foreign substance of the conductor which flew by the wind and got on the pantograph. In addition, the substation near the site did not detect the accidental current and kept the power on for about 25 minutes after the fire broke out, so firefighters were unable to extinguish the fire by spraying water from a fire truck, which was a factor that increased the damage. Therefore, after the accident, tests were conducted on the 1500V overhead lines that were still energized, and it was determined that water could be discharged by grounding the pipe mouth in consideration of the quality of the water. |
| April 24, 1951 |
Sakuragicho accident
(Five major postwar accidents of Japan National Railways) |
A Keihin Line train (Type MOHA63, five-car train 1271B) was accidentally cut off during insulator replacement work at Sakuragicho Station and came into contact with an overhead wire that was hanging down, catching fire due to an electric current ground fault. The first car burned to the ground and the second car half burned, resulting in 106 fatalities and 92 seriously injured. At the time, the Series 63 trains used on the Keihin Line were of wartime design, and their shoddy construction was blamed for many deaths and injuries, leading to the strengthening of safety measures for the National Railways. |
| June 18, 1952 |
Passengers fell down in Nippori station |
The panelling of the south span bridge at the Nippori station of the Japan National Railways was damaged when it could no longer bear the weight of passengers, and dozens of people fell 7m to the tracks below. Eight people were killed and five others seriously injured when they were hit by a passing Keihin Tohoku Line Urawa-bound train. The cause of the accident was that the bridge over the tracks (built in 1928) had deteriorated, a fire broke out at a signal station in Ueno Station before dawn on the day of the accident, and the up train on the Tohoku Main Line had to stop temporarily at Nippori. It is said that the train was crowded with more than twice as many passengers as usual. |
| May 03, 1962 |
Mikawashima Accident
(Five major postwar accidents of Japan National Railways) |
A down freight train (steam locomotive in tow) from Tabata Yard to Mito tried to enter the down main line from the freight line at Mikawashima Station on the Joban Line, but ran a stop signal, entered the safety lane, and derailed. Immediately after the lead locomotive interrupted the down line, the train departed Mikawashima Station one minute behind schedule and collided with a down train bound for Toride from Ueno, which was proceeding on the down line, interrupting the up line. About 6 minutes later, an up train bound for Toride came into the scene at high speed, crushing the lead cars of both trains, and causing many evacuees to be killed. Insufficient security measures for trains, equipment and the immediate aftermath were blamed for the accident, which subsequently led to the installation of Automatic Train Stop Systems (ATS) and train radio systems. |
| August 07, 1962 |
Nambu Line level crossing accident |
A down train collided with a truck that ignored the alarm and entered at the Class 3 level crossing between Tsudayama and Kuchi stations on the Nambu Line. Three people were killed when an up train collided with a down train that had obstructed the up train. This accident brought to light the problem of frequent level crossing accidents and led to the study of fundamental maintenance measures for level crossings, such as improving crossing facilities and making them multi-level, and the installation of level crossing obstruction warning devices was promoted as an immediate measure. |
| November 09, 1963 |
Tsurumi accident
(Five major postwar accidents of Japan National Railways) |
Between Tsurumi and Shinkoyasu stations on the Tokaido Main Line, a down freight train running on the freight line (currently the Yokosuka Line) derailed, causing a triple collision with an up and down passenger train. In total, 161 people were killed and 120 were seriously injured. After an investigation, it was determined that the cause of the collision was a competitive derailment. |
| January 04, 1964 |
Tachikawa station tank car collision |
An express train stopped at Tachikawa station was hit by a tank car filled with gasoline and caught fire, seriously injuring two passengers. The fire spread quickly and destroyed a building of 1,600 square meters around it. |
| August 08, 1967 |
U.S. military fuel train collides and catches fire |
A freight train (electric locomotive EF10 and 20 hopper cars) bound for Hama-Kawasaki on the Chuo Line upstream crossed a stop signal and collided with the side of a freight train (electric locomotive EF10 and 18 tank cars) bound for Tachikawa on the Chuo Line passing through the crossing line at the Shinjuku Station on the Chuo Line. Aviation fuel leaking from the derailed and overturned tank car ignited, and the locomotive and three tank cars caught fire. Although no one was killed or injured in the accident, the firefighting work was delayed due to the time required to extinguish the intense fire and to remove the fuel from the tank cars that escaped the fire, as well as the restoration work. |
| July 16, 1968 |
Ochanomizu Station train rear-end collision |
A 2239F train (10 cars) bound for Toyota station was rear-ended by a 2201F train bound for Takao station on the Chuo Line. Both trains derailed 5 cars each, and 210 people were injured. The cause of the accident was attributed to human error by the driver of the following train, who exceeded the speed limit and was late in applying the brakes. |
| March 28, 1972 |
Rear-end collision in Funabashi station |
At Funabashi Station on the Sobu Main Line, at around 7:21 a.m., the up train 613C (Nakano-bound, 101 Series, 10-car formation) on the slow line was stopped due to signal trouble at the station when the following up train 711C (Mitaka-bound, 101 Series, 10-car formation) on the slow line rear-ended it, derailing the sixth car of the Mitaka-bound train. Fortunately, no one was killed, but because there were so many passengers on the train during the morning commuting hours, it was the worst accident in Japan in terms of the number of injured, with 758 people seriously or slightly injured. Just before the accident, a power line at the Warabi substation was disconnected, causing a power failure in the signaling system. Normally, the following train would have stopped immediately after confirming that the lights were off, but the driver of the following train was blinded by the direct rays of the sun and was unable to determine that the lights were off. The driver of the following train was not aware that the ATS-B alarm does not stop sounding even if he presses the check button when the signal system is out of order, so he was distracted by the ATS alarm that did not stop sounding and operated the ATS switch to see if it was a malfunction. (It is a regulation that the train should stop immediately when the signal light goes off as a stop sign.) |
| June 23, 1972 |
Rear-end collision in Nippori station |
A northbound Keihin-Tohoku Line train No.1332C (Sakuragicho to Omiya: 103 Series 10-car formation) finished handling passengers at Nippori Station and departed two minutes late, but the door-closing indicator light on the driver’s cab went out, so the train applied the brakes and stopped about 90 meters ahead. On the other hand, the driver of the following Yamanote Line inner bound 1370th train (at that time, the Yamanote Line and the Keihin Tohoku Line were running on the same track between “Tabata and Tamachi” station during the day time for track maintenance. The train departed from Uguisudani station one minute late and was about to enter Nippori station when it noticed a train ahead of it stopped at the middle part of the platform and applied the emergency brake, but it could not brake in time and it hit the train. 143 people were injured. The cause of the collision was that the driver of the Yamanote Line drove faster than the speed limit of the on-board signal system. This accident led to a study of signal security equipment and the decision to convert to ATC on the Keihin Tohoku Line and the Hand Line. However, the implementation of ATC was delayed until December 6, 1981 because of the delay in the preparation of the rolling stock. |
| December 05, 1988 |
Chuo Line Higashi-Nakano Station train rear-end collision |
A down train (Series 103 with 10 cars) from Tsudanuma to Nakano was rear-ended by a down train (Series 201 with 10 cars) from Chiba to Nakano, which was stopped at Higashi-Nakano Station on JR East’s Chuo Loop Line. It was the first fatal accident since the establishment of JR. |
| September 14, 1992 |
Narita Line Oosuge level crossing accident |
At the Oosuge level crossing between Kusumi and Namekawa Stations on JR East’s Narita Line, a regular train (Series 113) bound for Sawara from Chiba collided with the side of a large dump truck that was entering the crossing when the barrier was down. The lead car was derailed and wrecked, killing the train driver and injuring 65 passengers. The driver had prepared for the collision and had taken safety measures such as shutting off the power supply by lowering the pantograph. The cause of the accident was that the dump truck, which was overloaded (it was carrying four times its maximum load of sand), failed to stop because the brakes did not work at the stop line at the level crossing. |
| October 12, 1997 |
Chuo Line Otsuki Station train collision |
At Otsuki Station on the Chuo Main Line, the side of a “Super Azusa No. 13” (E351 Series, 12-car train) limited express train from Shinjuku to Matsumoto, which was passing on the down train line, was hit by a replacement car (201 Series, 6-car train) that had entered the down train line from the waiting line, derailing cars 5 and 9 of the limited express train (car 8 was overturned) and the front two cars of the replacement car, and 77 passengers of the limited express train were injured. Seventy-seven passengers were injured. The cause of the collision is said to be that the driver of the replacement car, after he had released the automatic train stop system (ATS) on his own initiative for the replacement work in the yard, mistook the signal of the departure signal of the down main line for that of the replacement car and overlooked the stop signal of the replacement signal. |
| February 21, 1999 |
Yamanote Freight Line worker killed by touching car |
Five workers of JR East’s construction contractor were carrying materials and equipment for the construction of signal security equipment on the track between Osaki and Ebisu stations on the JR Yamanote Freight Line when they were hit by a special train from Shinagawa to Kobuchisawa (train 9531, EF64 electric locomotive + “Edo” coach: 7 cars in total). All five people were killed. The accident was caused by the following factors: the contractor’s construction supervisor was late to the work site and called the JR Signal Communication Control Room (Kita-ku, Tokyo) to start work without checking the train operation status at the Osaki Station Signal Handling Station; the supervisor allowed workers to enter the track without conducting an on-site roll call (meeting); the train guard was not given a train schedule with information about the extra trains; and the train guard was not given a train schedule for the day. The train guard was also on the opposite side of the track from where the train was coming. |
| February 23, 2014 (February 23, 2014) |
Keihin Tohoku Line train overturned and derailed |
A derailment accident occurred at around 1:00 a.m. on February 23rd at Kawasaki Station on the JR Keihin Tohoku Line when a train was overturned. The first and second cars of the 10-car train overturned, and the third car tilted about 75 degrees and collided with a trackside truck, which was used for repair work on the tracks. The wrecked cars were No. 9 and No. 10. The E233 Series 1000-177 formation, of which Moha E233-1477 is a part of the formation. It is said that the heavy equipment (9.5-ton rail car) used to transport materials on the tracks was caused by “putting heavy equipment on the Keihin Tohoku Line tracks, mistaking them for another line that had already completed its service”. |
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