Bullet trains restart in east Japan after power failure

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Bullet train services on sections of lines in eastern Japan restarted at around 9 a.m. Friday after being suspended earlier in the morning due to power transmission problems, rail operators said.

The Tohoku Shinkansen line became unable to properly supply power at around 5:45 a.m., leading to a suspension of operations between Tokyo and Sendai stations, East Japan Railway Co. said.

Operations of the Akita Shinkansen between Tokyo and Sendai and the Yamagata Shinkansen between Tokyo and Fukushima were also halted.

It was discovered that electricity was not being transmitted properly between Omiya and Oyama stations, north of Tokyo, according to the operator. A tree branch was found caught on a power line, and workers removed it.

The incident caused congestion at JR Tokyo Station.

Some 30 trains of the three lines were suspended or had partial suspensions in sections, while 45 trains including those on the Joetsu and Hokuriku shinkansen lines were delayed by up to three hours, affecting about 36,600 people, the company said.