Shinkansen lines operating normally as homeward travel peaks+

TOKYO, Dec. 30 Kyodo - Shinkansen bullet train lines were operating normally Tuesday as year-end travel to hometowns peaked, after services were partially suspended the previous day for three hours due to a failure in the operating control system.

Almost all reserved seats on shinkansen trains were occupied, according to East
Japan Railway Co. and Central Japan Railway Co., while flights from Tokyo's
Haneda airport to other areas of the nation were also almost full, according to
Japan Airlines Corp. and All Nippon Airways Co.
On Monday, the suspension of services on JR East's five shinkansen lines -- the
Tohoku, Joetsu, Nagano, Yamagata and Akita Shinkansen lines -- affected around
140,000 New Year holidaymakers and other travelers.
The Kanto district transport bureau on Tuesday ordered JR East to investigate
the cause of the system failure and take preventive measures.
Naoto Miyashita, chief of JR East's security division, said, ''We take it
seriously and will make utmost efforts so as not to repeat the trouble.''
==Kyodo
2008-12-30 21:54:43