JR East suffered major damage in the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. Examples of the damage and recovery are shown here. No revenue services were derailed on the Tohoku Shinkansen by the earthquake. However, there was extensive damage to viaducts and electric poles. Ceilings collapsed in Sendai Station, a major shinkansen station in Miyagi Prefecture. Service resumed on 29 April, or 49 days after the earthquake. It returned to the regular timetable service on 23 September 2011. Nasu-Shiobara Shiroishi-Zao and Sendai Viaduct Damage between Shiroishi-Zao and Sendai Station (left) was restored in March 2011 (right). Utsunomiya Oyama Omiya Ueno Tokyo Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 60 Oct 2012 2
Furukawa Yamagata Shinkansen Yamagata Sendai Sendai Station Shiroishi-Zao Ceilings collapsed Sendai is a major station on the. Ceilings collapsed on shinkansen platforms, but it was re-opened for passenger service on 29 April 2011. Top: damage, bottom: After partial restoration Fukushima Koriyama Shin-Shirakawa Photographs are courtesy of JR East unless otherwise stated 3 Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 60 Oct 2012
Shin-Aomori Shichinohe-Towada Hachinohe Ninohe Between Shin-Hanamaki and Morioka Viaducts Restoration was completed in March 2011 (right). Iwate-Numakunai Morioka Akita Shinkansen Shin-Hanamaki Kitakami Mizusawa Esashi Ichinoseki Kurikoma-Kogen Between Mizusawa Esashi and Kitakami Electric Poles Restoration was completed in March 2011. Furukawa Continued on page 73 Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 60 Oct 2012 4
Photostory Damage to Conventional Lines Conventional lines in the Tohoku region also suffered major damage including loss of bridge girders, railway tracks, embankments, station buildings, ballast, etc. Senzan Line (Sendai~Uzenchitose) Sakunami and Yatsumori Uzenchitose Yamagata Senzan Line Sakunami Yatsumori Aoba-dori Sendai Joban Line (Nippori~Iwanuma) Shinchi and Sakamoto Washed-away embankment Iwanuma Bridge girders swept away iigata Yamagata Shinkansen Yonezawa Watari Shiroishizao Sakamoto Shinchi Fukushima Soma Haranomachi West Ban-etsu Line 30 km 20 km 10 km Yard at Shinchi Koriyama Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Hirono Top: damage, bottom: after restoration Shin-Shirakawa Shirakawa Shirasaka Toyohara Yotsukura Iwaki (Tokyo~Morioka) Toyohara and Shirasaka Landslides Kuroiso Nasushiobara Suigun Line Izumi Joban Line Mito and Katsuta Embankment subsidence Utsunomiya Hitachiota Mito Katsuta Oyama Tomobe Omiya Nippori Tokyo Ueno After restoration completed in March 2011 73 Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 60 Oct 2012
Damages to Conventional Lines Aomori Hachinohe Line (Hachinohe~Kuji) Shukunohe and Rikuchu-Yagi Bridge girders and track swept away Shin- Aomori Noheji Shichinohe-Towada Misawa Hirosaki Ou Main Line Hachinohe Hachinohe Line Odate Ninohe Shukunohe Rikuchu-Yagi Higashi Noshiro The entire line reopened on 17 March 2012. Kuji Ishinomaki Line (Kogota~Onagawa) Yard at Onagawa Akita Akita Shinkansen Koma Morioka Iwatenumakunai Iwaizumi Line Iwaizumi Moichi Yamada Line Tsugaruishi Miyako Sokei ne Omagari Kitakami Line Hanamaki Shinhanamaki Kamaishi Line Rikuchu-Yamada Orikasa Yokote Kitakami Kamaishi Ou Main Line Mizusawaesashi Rikuzen-Yahagi Take koma Sakari Ofunato Hosoura Senseki Line (Aoba-dori~Ishinomaki) Yard at Nobiru Roadbed swept away Shinjo East Rikuu Line Ichinoseki Kesennuma Oyakaigan Motoyoshi Kurikoma-Kogen Rikuzen-Koizumi Nitta Umegasawa Yanaizu Kesennuma Line Ofunato Line Uzenchitose Yamagata Senzan Line Furukawa Sakunami Yatsumori Aoba-dori Sendai Kogota Maeyachi Ishinomaki Onagawa Takagimachi Urashuku Watanoha Nobiru Tagajo Senseki Line Ishinomaki Line Iwanuma Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 60 Oct 2012 74
Yamada Line (Morioka~Kamaishi) Soeki and Tsugaruishi Rikuchu-Yamada and Orikasa Bridge girders swept away Ofunato Line (Ichinoseki~Sakari) Rikuzen-Yahagi and Takekoma Kesennuma Line (Maeyachi~Kesennuma) Yard at Oyakaigan Yard at Hosoura Rikuzen-Koizumi and Motoyoshi Bridge girders swept away (Tokyo~Morioka) Umegasawa and Nitta Washed-away embankment Left: subsidence, right: after restoration 75 Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 60 Oct 2012