Summary of the Impact of Strong Wind Suspensions on the Tohoku Shinkansen on March 26, 2025

[Introduction]
On Wednesday, March 26, due to the influence of a developed low-pressure system, violent winds exceeding a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 30 m/s raged across Tochigi, Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate prefectures, and the Tohoku Shinkansen suspended operations sequentially from just after 9:00 AM. In addition to the strong winds, the adhesion of foreign objects to overhead lines and intermittent power outages occurred, causing the full resumption of operations to be delayed until after 6:00 PM, affecting 76,500 passengers. We will track the train operation status on that day using the train location information from the JR East app.

[Vinyl Adhesion to Overhead Lines at Fukushima Station]
Around 9:18 AM, based on information that vinyl had adhered to the overhead lines within Fukushima Station, nearby trains suspended operations sequentially. Later, it was determined that the vinyl had adhered to Track 14, where the Yamagata Shinkansen arrives and departs, so operations for northbound lines and southbound trains other than the Tsubasa were resumed. However, to remove the vinyl, it was necessary to stop the power to the overhead lines between Koriyama and Shiroishi-Zao, so train operations were temporarily halted, and removal work was carried out starting at 10:15 AM, taking about 10 minutes.

[Strong Wind Restrictions & Operation Suspensions]
However, around 10:28 AM, the value of the anemometer between Shiroishi-Zao and Sendai reached the regulatory limit, leading to a suspension of operations between Tokyo and Sendai, and passengers on some trains were informed that the expected time for resumption of operations was 11:00 AM. Subsequently, at 10:43 AM, the suspended section was expanded to between Tokyo and Morioka, and each Tohoku Shinkansen train waited for the resumption of operations at the nearest station between Omiya and Morioka.

[Successive Power Outages]
Around 10:00 AM, a power outage occurred between Fukushima and Sendai. Although power was successfully restored afterward, the same phenomenon occurred three times in the same section by 11:00 AM. Furthermore, around 11:30 AM, power outages occurred twice between Shin-Shirakawa and Fukushima. It is presumed that these events were caused by auxiliary overhead lines being whipped by strong winds and coming into contact with overhead line suspension arms, causing the breakers of nearby substation equipment to trip due to a ground fault. Under such strong winds, the resumption of train operations could not be expected, and at this point, the section between Shin-Shirakawa and Kurikoma-Kogen was designated as a suspended section due to strong winds.

[Accommodation of Trains Stopped Between Stations]
As of noon, there were 3 southbound trains stopped between stations that could not stop at the nearest station platform. To accommodate these trains at nearby station platforms, it was decided to cancel 3 other trains in the section. First, to rescue the Hayabusa/Komachi No. 7 stopped between Koriyama and Fukushima, either the Yamabiko No. 205 stopped at Track 13 of Fukushima Station or the Tsubasa No. 128 stopped at Track 14 had to be moved. This time, the Yamabiko No. 205 was terminated at this station, and the section between Fukushima and Sendai was suspended. Passengers were offloaded to the platform, and the train was moved as a deadhead to between Fukushima and Shiroishi-Zao. The following Hayabusa/Komachi No. 7 was then brought into the vacated Track 13. Next was the rescue of the Yamabiko No. 207 stopped between Omiya and Koyama, and the Hayabusa No. 13 stopped on the southbound passing track at Koyama Station. Currently, at Koyama, Utsunomiya, and Nasushiobara stations, the Yamabiko No. 207 is before Koyama Station, the Yamabiko/Tsubasa No. 133 is at Track 1 of Koyama Station, the Hayabusa No. 13 is on the southbound passing track, the Yamabiko No. 55 is at Track 5, the Nasuno No. 255 is at Track 1 of Utsunomiya Station, the Hayabusa No. 11 is at Track 1 of Nasushiobara Station, and the Yamabiko/Tsubasa No. 131 is at Track 2, meaning all platforms where southbound trains can enter are occupied. First, the Hayabusa No. 11 stopped at Track 1 of Nasushiobara Station was terminated at this station, and the section between Nasushiobara and Shin-Aomori was suspended. The train was moved as a deadhead to the Nasushiobara train storage track. Next, the Nasuno No. 255 bound for Koriyama, stopped at Track 1 of Utsunomiya Station, was moved to the vacated Track 1 of Nasushiobara Station (eventually, the Nasuno No. 255 was also terminated at this station and moved as a deadhead to the storage track). Furthermore, the Hayabusa No. 13 stopped on the southbound passing track at Koyama Station was accommodated at the vacated Track 1 of Utsunomiya Station. Finally, the Yamabiko No. 55 stopped at Track 5 of Koyama Station was terminated at this station, and the section between Koyama and Tokyo was suspended. The train was moved as a deadhead to between Koyama and Utsunomiya, and the Yamabiko No. 207, which had been stopped outside the station, was accommodated at the vacated Track 5. Through these procedures, the stopping of trains between stations was resolved, but the movement of these trains was carried out under slow-speed operation due to the 160 km/h or 70 km/h speed restrictions set between Utsunomiya and Kitakami.

[Announcement of Resumption Prospects and Response After Resumption]
From around 12:30 PM, the Yamagata Shinkansen began turnaround operations using Track 5 on the ground level at Fukushima Station starting with Tsubasa Nos. 132 and 135, and the Akita Shinkansen began turnaround operations using Tracks 8 and 9 on the ground level at Morioka Station starting with Komachi Nos. 16 and 19. Around 2:45 PM, it was announced that operations were expected to resume at 5:00 PM. However, after that time passed, the expected resumption time was extended to 6:00 PM, and full operations resumed at 6:10 PM when the strong wind restrictions were lifted. This resulted in a long-term suspension of operations lasting nearly 9 hours at its peak. Although the Yamagata Shinkansen Tsubasa began direct service to Tokyo only for the final northbound and southbound trains, Nos. 159 and 160, the Akita Shinkansen Komachi continued turnaround operations at Morioka Station all day. To rescue passengers on the Yamabiko No. 70, which arrived at Tokyo Station at 1:01 AM the next day as the final northbound train, a train hotel using a 12-car E7 series train was opened. In addition, the Tsubasa No. 123 operated on the 27th had its operation changed from an E3 series to an E8 series train with fewer seats, and since it was impossible to rebook all reserved seats, it was operated with all cars as non-reserved except for the Green Car.

[Operation of Extra Trains]
To rescue passengers due to schedule disruptions, the following extra trains were operated as all-stations-stop trains with all cars non-reserved except for Gran Class and Green Cars. (Arrival and departure times are based on the planned schedule; in reality, they were operated with significant delays.)
・Yamabiko No. 545: E5 series 10 cars, departs Tokyo 14:36, arrives Morioka 17:54
・Yamabiko No. 547: E2 series 10 cars, departs Tokyo 17:28, arrives Sendai 19:37
・Yamabiko No. 549: E5 series 10 cars, departs Tokyo 18:00, arrives Sendai 19:59
・Yamabiko No. 539: E5 series 10 cars, departs Tokyo 18:35, arrives Morioka 20:48
・Hayate No. 541: E5 series 10 cars, departs Morioka 12:10, arrives Shin-Aomori 13:15
・Hayate No. 543: E5 series 10 cars, departs Sendai 14:35, arrives Shin-Aomori 16:55

[Suspended Trains - Confirmed]
・Hayabusa 33 trains: 2 trains between Tokyo and Sendai (Nos. 43, 108), 6 trains between Tokyo and Morioka (Nos. 16, 105, 107, 110, 111, 112), 17 trains between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori (Nos. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 37, 40, 42), 1 train between Tokyo and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto (No. 34), 1 train between Nasushiobara and Shin-Aomori (No. 11), 1 train between Sendai and Shin-Aomori (No. 17), 4 trains between Morioka and Shin-Aomori (Nos. 7, 33, 36, 96), 1 train between Shin-Aomori and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto (No. 30)
・Yamabiko 52 trains: 34 trains between Tokyo and Sendai (Nos. 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 209, 211, 13, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68), 1 train between Koyama and Morioka (No. 55), 1 train between Koriyama and Sendai (No. 129), 2 trains between Fukushima and Sendai (Nos. 127, 205), 1 train between Sendai and Morioka (No. 99)
・Nasuno 12 trains: 4 trains between Tokyo and Nasushiobara (Nos. 267, 269, 279, 281), 6 trains between Tokyo and Koriyama (Nos. 257, 259, 261, 276, 278, 280), 2 trains between Nasushiobara and Koriyama (Nos. 255, 274)
・Tsubasa 25 trains: 15 trains between Tokyo and Fukushima (Nos. 132, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 143, 145, 146, 149, 153, 154, 156, 157), 1 train between Tokyo and Nasushiobara (No. 158), 4 trains between Fukushima and Yamagata (Nos. 127, 129, 142, 148), 4 trains between Fukushima and Shinjo (Nos. 131, 133, 144, 150)
・Komachi 21 trains: 14 trains between Tokyo and Morioka (Nos. 16, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 32, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42), 3 trains between Tokyo and Akita (Nos. 20, 21, 28), 2 trains between Morioka and Akita (Nos. 7, 28), 1 train between Sendai and Morioka (No. 35), 1 train between Sendai and Akita (No. 34)

[Trains Delayed by 120-499 Minutes / 500 Minutes or More - Confirmed]
・Hayabusa 19 trains: No. 14 Tokyo +572 min, No. 106 Tokyo +565 min, No. 12 Tokyo +537 min, No. 15 Shin-Aomori +527 min, No. 13 Sendai +521 min, No. 7 Morioka +514 min, No. 10 Tokyo +510 min, No. 9 Shin-Aomori +506 min, 11 trains less than 500 min
・Yamabiko 19 trains: No. 132 Tokyo +622 min, No. 134 Tokyo +561 min, No. 52 Tokyo +554 min, No. 54 Tokyo +549 min, No. 131 Sendai +530 min, No. 207 Sendai +520 min, No. 53 Morioka +519 min, No. 130 Tokyo +518 min, 11 trains less than 500 min
・Nasuno 7 trains: 7 trains less than 500 min
・Hayate 1 train: No. 543 Shin-Aomori +165 min
・Tsubasa 6 trains: No. 131 Sendai +530 min, 5 trains less than 500 min
・Komachi 11 trains: No. 14 Tokyo +572 min, No. 15 Akita +541 min, No. 12 Tokyo +537 min, No. 9 Akita +518 min, No. 7 Morioka +514 min, No. 10 Tokyo +507 min, 5 trains less than 500 min
・Hakutaka 1 train: Tokyo +126 min

[Trains Delayed by Less Than 120 Minutes - Confirmed]
・Hayabusa 5 trains, Yamabiko 8 trains, Hayate 1 train, Nasuno 4 trains, Tsubasa 3 trains, Komachi 3 trains
・Toki 12 trains, Tanigawa 7 trains, Kagayaki 5 trains, Hakutaka 4 trains, Asama 6 trains

[Appendix 1: Akita Station Suspicious Object Scare]
On Tuesday, March 25, a cleaner found a silver carry-on case (54 cm high x 32 cm wide x 10 cm deep) that had been placed next to the smoking area on the Shinkansen platform at Akita Station since that morning, so they notified station staff around 10:25 AM, and the station staff reported it to the police. Because of this, from 11:17 AM, all Shinkansen and conventional line train arrivals and departures at Akita Station were suspended. The police conducted an inspection and removal of the suspicious object, and full operations resumed at 1:40 PM. Subsequent investigations revealed that the suspicious object was not related to any incident and was handed over to the owner.
・4 trains with section suspensions: Komachi Nos. 19 and 24 between Morioka and Akita, Super Tsugaru Nos. 1 and 2 between Akita and Odate
・3 trains held before Akita Station: Komachi No. 3 +153 min, Tsugaru No. 42 +120 min, Inaho No. 1 +101 min delay
・1 train held from departing Akita Station: Komachi No. 20 Tokyo Station +112 min delay
・Other: 8 trains suspended and 11 trains delayed on the Ou, Uetsu, and Oga lines, affecting 3,000 people

[Appendix 2: Tsubasa No. 138 Abnormal Noise Detection]
According to information from an acquaintance who was on board, around 11:23 AM on Tuesday, March 25, the Tsubasa No. 138 detected an abnormal noise when arriving at Akayu Station, so a vehicle inspection was conducted. Since no abnormalities were found, operations resumed 15 minutes later, but while traveling between Yonezawa and Sekine, an abnormal noise was detected again, so an inspection was conducted. Although operations resumed after 12:30 PM, the cause was unknown, so the train was accommodated at Track 5 on the ground level at Fukushima Station and the operation was terminated. Passengers boarded the following Yamabiko and headed toward Tokyo.
・2 trains with section suspensions: Tsubasa Nos. 138 and 141 between Tokyo and Fukushima
・Other: Affected 450 people

*Suspended/delayed trains will be posted after detailed data recording and aggregation.
*Image material: photolibrary