Tohoku bullet train resumes operation a month after major earthquake

SENDAI – The Tokyo-bound Yamabiko 340 of the Tohoku Shinkansen approached the podium at JR Sendai Station shortly before 6 a.m. on April 14 for the first time in nearly a month.

“From all the staff in the JR East Sendai area, thank you for waiting so long for the entire Tohoku Shinkansen line to resume,” East Japan Railway Co. employees read. (JR East).

Thirteen JR East employees waved flags as they died passengers.

Services resumed between Fukushima and Sendai on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line on the morning of April 14, and the line fully reopened for the first time in 29 days since a major earthquake.

Urara Shimizu, 54, a university professor from Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, took the express train at the station that morning to reach her office in Chiba Prefecture.

She said she has had to commute by car and bus for the past month.

“I am really grateful that services are resuming because it will save me time and energy,” she said with a smile. “I’m sure the view from the train window will make me appreciate what I’ve taken for granted thus far.”

A government employee in her fifties, who lives in Ward Wakabayashi in Sendai, said she is traveling to Tokyo to help her son settle down as he began attending university there this spring.

“I’m worried about him because he’s living alone for the first time,” she said.

The woman said she had initially planned to take a bus on the highway, but had bought a ticket for the express train in the late afternoon of April 13 after learning that the Tohoku Shinkansen line would be fully reopened on the day she was scheduled to leave Sendai for Tokyo.

“Traveling in a bus on the highway takes time and is draining,” she said. “I was fortunate to resume express train services earlier than initially planned.”

JR East will operate bullet train services at around 80 to 90 percent of normal capacity at present because they need to run trains at lower speeds between some divisions.

Operations are expected to return to normal after the Golden Week holiday in May, JR East reported.

The Tohoku Shinkansen derailed in the March 16 earthquake in Fukushima Prefecture. The earthquake recorded a maximum intensity of 6 on the Japanese seismic scale of 7.

The rail operator halted train operations after damage was discovered at about 1,000 places, including utility poles and elevated bridges, between Nasushiobara and Morioka.

JR East reopened services in phases as it reinstated districts. Operations resumed between Koriyama and Fukushima on April 2, and between Sendai and Ichinoseki on April 4.

The rail operator initially said it planned to resume services for the particularly affected section between Fukushima and Sendai around April 20, but raised the date as work proceeded to lift derailed carriages and restore tracks more quickly than expected.

(This article was written by Takashi Ogawa, Ryo Ikeda, and Fuka Taki.)

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos