Cracked Frame Detected on N700 Shinkansen

[bill937ca]

 

Shinkansen halted in Nagoya after oil leak and cracked frame found

 

OSAKA – West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) reported what is the first recorded “serious incident,” a designation in the transport ministry’s accident-classification system introduced in 2001, on a shinkansen after a crack and oil leak were discovered underneath a running bullet train bound for Tokyo.

 

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/?post_type=news&p=1321322#.WjR9Ft-nHcc

 

Edited December 20, 2017 by bill937ca

[katoftw]

I saw that a few days ago. The details were a bit sketchy though.

[yakumo381]

Saw elsewhere that a passenger had reported an oil mist in the car but when the train was inspected at a subsequent station, it was passed as fit and kept in service for a further significant time before getting failed at a further inspection at Nagoya. The cracked frame was then also found when the transmission leak was investigated but the issue of letting the train continue in service with a transmission bearing failure in the first place is a primary safety concern.

 

Premature frame failure in my opinion may however turn out to be the more significant issue especially if the aluminium is traced back to a company that has been caught up in the scandal of allowing out of specification material to be shipped.

[Sacto1985]

YouTube member Dr.YELLOW movie by charonzoom filmed a video of the damaged N700A trainset K5 as it was prepared to be moved from Nagoya Station to a service depot, probably at JR Central's Shinkansen service yard at Hamamatsu:

 

 

[bill937ca]

JR West issued a statement which is getting a far share of press.

 

From The Mainichi with a photo and diagrams.

 

http://www.mainichi.jp/english/articles/20171220/p2a/00m/0na/019000c

 

 

From JapanToday

 

Crack found in bullet train could have caused derailment: JR West

A 16-centimeter crack recently found in the undercarriage of a running bullet train could have been serious enough to cause a derailment, train operator West Japan Railway Co said Tuesday.

 

"It was an extremely serious incident that has affected trust in the safety of shinkansen," JR West Vice President Norihiko Yoshie said, referring to what the transport ministry's accident investigation board has determined to be the first "serious incident" affecting the Japanese high-speed train system.

 

https://japantoday.com/category/national/update1-crack-found-in-bullet-train-could-have-caused-derailment-jr-west

 

From Japan News

 

Crack in bullet train nearly caused derailment

 

OSAKA (Jiji Press) — A crack found in a bogie frame of a Shinkansen bullet train last week was so deep that the frame nearly fractured to cause a derailment, the train operator said Tuesday.

The crack in the square-tube frame had a total length of 44 centimeters, or about two-thirds of the section’s perimeter, said West Japan Railway Co., or JR West.

 

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0004139158

[yakumo381]

Excessive weld grinding by Kawasaki is apparently the problem...

 

Update on failure analysis:

 

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/02/28/national/jr-west-says-shinkansen-crack-caused-faulty-part-will-replace-problematic-components-made-kawasaki-heavy/

[bill937ca]

A follow up from trafficnews.jp

 

To strengthen abnormality detection of Shinkansen vehicles Measures based on truck crack problems JR Tokai

 

https://trafficnews.jp/post/80585

[Kiha66]

Very impressive, I didnt know they already had truck temperature monitoring stations on the major bridges and even more should help stop any similar faults in the future.

[kvp]

3 hours ago, bill937ca said:

A follow up from trafficnews.jp

 

To strengthen abnormality detection of Shinkansen vehicles Measures based on truck crack problems JR Tokai

 

https://trafficnews.jp/post/80585

So they do everything that could be automated but won't increase the number of manual inspections.

 

On the other hand it is a good idea to monitor the air suspension for an already broken bogie, but this is a safety measure not a preventive step. Which might be enough.