Kyushu rail services resume following equipment damage and earthquake repairs

Service has fully resumed on the Kyushu Shinkansen following a suspension caused by damaged power equipment. The disruption began on the night of October 12 after a damaged pantograph was discovered, leading to inspections of overhead lines. While service between Hakata and Kumamoto resumed on the afternoon of October 13, the section between Kumamoto and Kagoshima-Chuo remained suspended until the morning of October 14. The outage affected approximately 23,200 passengers and resulted in 97 canceled trains across both directions.

In a separate development regarding regional rail recovery, the Hisatsu Orange Railway has also resumed full operations. This follows a two-and-a-half-month suspension caused by the Kumamoto earthquake in July, which damaged approximately 105 locations along the tracks. With this resumption, all railway lines affected by the earthquake in the region, including the JR Kagoshima Line, have now returned to service.