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JR Hokkaido on Sunday said that it found track defects in 97 locations on its Hakodate line which has seen a number of train derailments recently.
The company has been under fire since the latest incident -- the derailment of a freight train last Thursday. JR Hokkaido said the derailment was most likely caused because the tracks had widened beyond the safe limit.
JR Hokkaido President Makoto Nojima apologized to the public for the disruptions to service at a news conference on Sunday, Fuji TV reported. He said the company had made emergency inspections after Thursday's derailment and found that the tracks had widened in 97 locations.
The land ministry has reprimanded the company for having neglected track maintenance.
Transport safety officials believe the heavy rain in Hokkaido this summer has eroded gravel and soil that keep the rail sleepers in place.
© Japan Today
14 Comments
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CrazyJoe
If no repairs are made why do they inspect them in the first place?
buggerlugs
So they can deny it later.
hokkaidoguy
Why on earth would you think that no repairs are being made?
CrazyJoe
Because it says so over here in yahoo.jp news.
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20130922-00000590-yom-soci
Nipporinoel
One answer fits all situations in Japan.
This is most " regretable" but I'm sure they will " sincerely reflect on the situation", "collect all relevant information swiftly " and "take appropriate action speedily ".
Jack Stern
Most companies avoid maintainence as much as possible because of cost. This may lead to accidents and of course bowed heads.
FightingViking
@Nipporinoel
I guess we're all beginning to know those phrases by heart now...
hokkaidoguy
That makes your comment even more confusing. The last sentence says that repairs were made between the 20th and the 22nd.
smithinjapan
Meanwhile, who has been arrested? nobody.
gokai_wo_maneku
First it is fake nuclear power plant inspections, now fake track inspections. What's next? Do you feel safe in Japan?
Tiger_In_The_Hermitage
JR please fix it asap..... riding on one soon!
gogogo
Someone's looking for a budget increase.
There is no way a JP company would release this information if there wasn't another agenda.
Himajin
From another source-
"In-house rules stipulate that a deviation of 19 mm or more must be rectified within 15 days of discovery. But the decision to make such repairs is usually left to employees on the scene, and the railway’s headquarters might have little knowledge about the true condition of its tracks.
At the accident site, the track width was 20 mm wider than normal last October and 25 mm wider in June. JR Hokkaido said the areas in question had all been repaired by Saturday. The widest deviation confirmed was 28 mm, it said"
smithinjapan
Why isn't this in the crime section? Why is it so allowed?