Four people were killed after being struck by a limited express train during vegetation-clearing work at Shin-Kanuma Station in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture. Tobu Railway submitted an interim report to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, which confirmed multiple violations of safety-management rules.
Four people were killed in an accident during vegetation-clearing work at Shin-Kanuma Station in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture. On the 30th, Tobu Railway submitted an interim report to the Kanto District Transport Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The report pointed to problems with the chain of command at the site.
The work supervisor originally assigned to direct the operation had little experience in vegetation-clearing work and reportedly left command to the site manager, who was his superior and was off duty. Insufficient coordination at the site and confusion in the chain of command were confirmed.
At the time of the accident, there had been no coordination regarding the positioning of the train lookouts or evacuation locations, and the report describes how a worker who did not follow the site manager’s instructions was killed. It also pointed to failures in communication concerning signals when a train was approaching and between relay lookouts.
At a press conference, Tobu Railway’s General Manager of the Transport Department apologized and indicated that the company planned to establish a third-party committee to determine the cause and prevent a recurrence. The accident occurred on 20 August, when the victims were struck and killed by a Spacia X train.