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Table 8 Natural disasters leading to severe damages to railways with “close-or-reconstruct” discussions since 1990s (as of Summer 2016)
From: Japan’s transport planning at national level, natural disasters, and their interplays
Year | Railway company | Line | Type of natural disaster | Long-term suspension | Consequence as of summer 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | JR West | Oito Line | Flood | 1995–1997 | Reopened in 1997 |
2005 | Takachiho Railway | Takachiho Line | Typhoon (flood, bridges lost) | Until official closure | No reconstruction, officially closed in 2008 |
2006, 2013 | JR West | Sanko Line | Flood | 2006–2007 (1 year), 2013–2014 (1 year) | Reopened in 2007 and 2014 respectively, but planned closure in 2018 |
2009 | JR Central | Meisho Line | Typhoon (landslide) | 2009–2016 | Reopened in 2016 |
2010 | JR East | Iwaizumi Line | Landslide | Until official closure | No reconstruction, officially closed in 2014 |
2011 | JR East | Tadami Line | Heavy rain (flood, bridges lost) | Suspended until today | Decision not yet made at the time of this research |
2012 | JR Hokkaido | Rumoi Main Line | Avalanches | Repeated precautionary closures in every winter since then | Once recovered, but closure planned in late 2016 |
2013 | Shigaraki Railway | Shigaraki line | Typhoon (flood and landslide, one bridge lost) | 2013–2014 | Reopened in 2014 |
2015 | JR Hokkaido | Hidaka Main Line | Surge, Typhoon | Until today | Decision not yet made at the time of this research |