Status of train lines affected by the Tohoku Earthquake

[gmat]

Found this site in English while looking to see if the evacuation zone would affect the train lines if I traveled north.

 

Earthquake Info in English @wiki

TransportationStatus

http://www46.atwiki.jp/earthquakeinfo_en/m/pages/15.html?guid=on#id_8d27cb89

 

Note from the site:

 

 

Train Status (Last updated July 4)

 

 

Important:

 

Train schedules are subject to abrupt changes.

 

Information here is not updated in real-time. Temporary (additional) service curtailments can happen due to earthquakes, power shortages and safety reasons.

 

Note that the time frame is approximate. Even when we say "such-and-such section open between 10AM-8PM" a service scheduled to depart at 7:45 may be absent. Also please be careful when crossing rail tracks when sections are "closed".

 

As of July 1, most rail lines on the Pacific coast are still closed. The Shinkansen is running but speed restrictions are in place. Rail lines in the Tohoku area are operating along normal schedules.

 

During normal operations extra-fare trains and late night runs adjust departure times to allow connections from delayed runs on other lines. Rail companies state that they cannot offer "grace periods" now.

 

Service reductions are considered to save energy during the hot summer weeks. JR East says that services will not be curtailed in areas affected by the earthquake and low density lines with less that 4 runs per hour one way.

 

Official websites have pages that are not up to date, even in the Japanese pages. In one occasion the maintainer of this page has contacted a rail company to point out a timetable error on their official website. (It was promptly corrected.) Information available from foreign language pages is sketchy at best. Many sites have foreign language pages untouched from before the great earthquake.

 

Sources: official websites of railway companies.

 

Would be nice if there was a colored map showing the lines out of service.

 

I guess travel along the coast north of Iwaki is still interrupted.

 

Best wishes,

Grant

[linkey]

I believe that the train line to Sendai Airport is still closed from the eartquake due to the damage of the rail line in that area and most of the coastal area of the north east are either reduced service or have not been repaired.

 

Also the line near the Fukushima Dai Ichi Plant 1 has not been been checked due to the radiation levels over there is pretty high still. Word has it that they might not replace that section of line until the levels drop in the future.

 

This is going on reports from the same site a few weeks ago in Early to mid June.

[bikkuri bahn]

Basically, your travels will not be affected little, if at all, as long as you stay away from the Pacific coast of Fukushima Pref, and the heavily damaged coastal areas of Miyagi and southern Iwate...

 

As for the Joban line, the portion completely closed is between Hisanohama (Fukushima pref.) and Watari (Miyagi pref.).  Replacement bus services are being run between Watari and Minami Souma.

[spacecadet]

Basically, your travels will not be affected little, if at all, as long as you stay away from the Pacific coast of Fukushima Pref, and the heavily damaged coastal areas of Miyagi and southern Iwate...

 

Yeah, I was just in Tokyo and Ibaraki and it was business as usual.  The section of the Joban line I rode on was normal.

 

Last day I was there JR kicked in their summer energy-saving schedule, which did make for some more crowded trains on some lines.

[gmat]

How far North did you go?

 

Shinjuku Station News.

Although the Narita Express runs on a modified schedule, other services apparently started on the first day of July. The Super View Odoriko was noted this weekend as well as the Home Liner Yamanashi (215 series) and also the Kwaguchi-ko 183 series which I believe are running from both Omiya and Shinjuku Stations. The blue one from Shinjuku and the Cream one from Omiya. This summer again, the Kusatsu Resort is running from Nagano-hara-kusatsuguchi Station to Shinjuku Station.

 

Best wishes,

Grant