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Amagasaki rail crash

Amagasaki rail crash
Aftermath of the Amagasaki rail crash
Aftermath of the Amagasaki rail crash
Date 25 April 2005
Time 09:19 (JST)
Location Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture
Coordinates 34°44′29.3″N 135°25′35.7″E / 34.741472°N 135.426583°E / 34.741472; 135.426583Coordinates: 34°44′29.3″N 135°25′35.7″E / 34.741472°N 135.426583°E / 34.741472; 135.426583
Country Japan
Rail line Fukuchiyama Line
Operator West Japan Railway Company
Type of incident Derailment
Cause Overspeed on curve arising from harsh penalties for lateness; retraining system
Statistics
Trains 1
Passengers Approx 700
Deaths 107
Injuries 562

The Amagasaki rail crash (JR福知山線脱線事故 JR Fukuchiyama-sen dassen jiko?, lit. "JR Fukuchiyama Line derailment") was a fatal railway derailment which occurred on 25 April 2005 at 09:19 local time (00:19 UTC), just after the local rush hour. A seven-car commuter train came off the tracks on the JR West Fukuchiyama Line in Amagasaki, Hyogo prefecture (near Osaka), just before Amagasaki Station on its way for Dōshisha-mae via the JR Tōzai Line and the Gakkentoshi Line, and the front two carriages rammed into an apartment building. The first carriage slid into the first floor parking garage and as a result took days to remove, while the second slammed into the corner of the building, being crushed against it by the weight of the remaining carriages. Of the roughly 700 passengers (initial estimate was 580 passengers) on board at the time of the crash, 106 passengers, in addition to the driver, were killed and 562 others injured. Most passengers and bystanders have said that the train appeared to have been travelling too fast. The incident was Japan's most serious since the 1963 Tsurumi rail accident in which two passenger trains collided with a derailed freight train, killing 162 people.

The train involved was train number 5418M, a limited-stop "Rapid" commuter service from Takarazuka to Dōshisha-mae. It was a seven-car 207 series electric multiple unit (EMU) formation consisting of a 4-car set and a 3-car set coupled together as shown below, with car 1 leading. The train was carrying approximately 700 passengers at the time of the accident.


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