11 hours ago
JR East: Shinkansen train power supply systems had damaged chips
East Japan Railway says some of its newest Shinkansen trains that suffered a string of problems last week were found to have damaged semiconductor chips in their electricity supply systems.
On June 17, four Yamagata Shinkansen E8 series trains running in Tochigi and Fukushima prefectures experienced problems caused by power supply malfunctions.
Each train has two power supply system units. JR East and the system's maker found that six of the eight units were faulty and had damaged semiconductor parts.
JR East said chip damage was also reported on June 16 and May 21. No cause has been determined.
Such chips may suffer damage when power voltage and current become too high and components get too hot. JR East says it will keep investigating the problem, including whether rising air temperature was a factor.
