Tohoku Shinkansen Collides with Bear, Service Temporarily Suspended… Entry Path Unknown for Full-Standard Train on Elevated Tracks

On June 28 at around 4:02 PM JST, a rare incident occurred when the JR Tohoku Shinkansen, specifically the Hayabusa 25 (bound for Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto) and Komachi 25 (bound for Akita) trains departing from Tokyo, collided with a bear. The collision took place between Sendai and Furukawa stations in Osato Town, Miyagi Prefecture. After an abnormal noise was detected, a vehicle inspection was conducted, leading to a 37-minute suspension of services on both the up and down lines between Sendai and Morioka stations.

According to JR East, collisions between bears and full-standard Shinkansen trains, which run on elevated tracks, are extremely uncommon. How the bear managed to access the tracks remains a mystery. The train crew spotted the bear on the tracks before the collision and later confirmed its carcass near the tracks after stopping the train.

This unusual event caused delays to five Shinkansen trains, affecting approximately 2,300 passengers.