Japan rail disruption spreads as typhoon crawls eastward

Disruption to shinkansen bullet train services in Japan spread Saturday amid heavy rain as a slow-moving typhoon lingered in western Japan, Kyodo reports. 

JR Central suspended its Tokaido Shinkansen trains between Gifu-Hashima and Maibara on Saturday morning due to heavy rain caused by Typhoon Shanshan. With services between Tokyo and Nagoya already halted, most of the Tokaido Shinkansen Line was paralyzed Saturday morning.

The company said it plans to resume services on the eastern section of the line between Tokyo and Mishima later Saturday but operations between Mishima and Nagoya will remain suspended through Sunday.

JR West, which reduced the number of trains on the Sanyo Shinkansen Line connecting Shin-Osaka and Hakata on Saturday, said the service reduction will continue on Sunday.

The typhoon was moving toward the Kii Peninsula in western Japan around 9 a.m. Saturday at 15 kilometers per hour, with winds of up to 90 kph and an atmospheric pressure of 996 hectopascals at its center, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The agency warned parts of the Tokai region in central Japan could see torrential rain through Sunday due to humid air brought by the typhoon.