Smoke disrupts Tokaido Shinkansen services in central Japan
Central Japan Railway Company and police say that after leaving Shin-Osaka station, conductors on the Kodama No. 764 bound for Shizuoka smelled something burning shortly after 10 p.m.
At Gifuhashima station, crewmembers say they discovered white smoke coming from beneath the No. 9 car and reported it to the local fire department. Fire fighters then identified a fire underneath the car, which took about two hours to put out.
The estimated 250 passengers were safely disembarked and operations of the Kodama train were suspended. The passengers later boarded a Nozomi shinkansen.
The incident caused delays of up to 52 minutes in shinkansen operations, affecting about 3,800 passengers.
JR Central is examining the car to determine what caused the blaze.
The company says Tokaido Shinkansen services had resumed normal operations on Saturday.
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