Man falls from Ueno station platform but avoids oncoming train
TOKYO —
A man fell from the platform at JR Ueno station at about 6.40 p.m. on Sunday just before a train pulled up to the station, but he was able to avoid injury by lying in a space underneath the platform, police said Monday.
The driver of the Yamanote line train bound for Nippori and Ikebukuro applied the brakes, and the train came to a halt after two carriages had passed over where the man fell. The man was not injured, however, after being able to lay in a space - while not an evacuation space - about 1 meter wide and 30 cm high from the ground to the platform.
Police said a JR employee at Ueno station helped the man - who appeared to have been drinking - back onto the platform.
Yamanote line trains in both directions were stopped temporarily, and trains on the Keihin Tohoku and Joban lines were also delayed, affecting some 33,000 passengers in total.
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17 Comments
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hoserfella
sounds like the salarymen of Japan are getting good at this. If there was an event in avoiding being crushed by an oncoming train, Japan's olympic woes would be over.
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Baibaikin
Muppet
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blvtzpk
"who appeared to have been drinking" - automatic inclusion in these stories.
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Debucho
add to that 1) sucking wind through teeeth and 2) running to empty seat on train.
Three gold medals right there.
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dolphingirl
This seems to be becoming a trend. Hmmm, let's see if I can get hammered, fall onto the tracks and survive unscathed.
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ratpack
Wow talk about copy cats
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goddog
That's a good fall. Should have hit his head on a rail. Lucky him.
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Proffesor
Wow!...it seems like these guys sober up soon after hitting the rail tracks. Very impressive I should say for a drunk.
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kokorocloud
Close call... I always worry about that sort of thing when I see drunk people weaving on the train platform. I was standing next to one just yesterday. Thankfully he didn't topple over until he got ON the train.
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PenelopePitstop
How drunk do you have to be to fall off a railway platform? This is one thing I don't get about Japan: people are all about keeping up appearances but this doesn't apply to being fall-off-a-platform-drunk in public.
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spikejp99
I just wonder, are some of these incidents attempted suicides??? Get drunk, decide to kill oneself, jump onto tracks and then, rightfully so, realise the enormity of their actions and quickly jump into the space unde the platform.... Maybe there is more background to these incidents....
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kyoken
When will all stations finally have the guard walls with automated doors? It would make using the train much safer in many aspects.
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smithinjapan
"Police said a JR employee at Ueno station helped the man - who appeared to have been drinking - back onto the platform."
Oh he was drinking?? Surprise, surprise. At least these days we're not hearing about people getting hit, but escaping the trains, or of others rescuing them. They've got to get better security systems in place, particularly during enkai season.... errr... every other week.
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DeepAir65
they should bill him for the trouble caused - emergency service call out, train driver councilling, over time for drivers etc
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peachy871
They most likely will!
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ca1ic0cat
This falling off the platform bit is really getting old. Seems like it never used to happen ten years ago. I wonder what is going on.
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tokyokawasaki
If you are too drunk you are not allowed to fly.
Why can't they introduce the same rule for trains? If you're pissed and a danger to yourself and others then you're not safe to travel by rail (get a taxi)...
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