Photo/Illutration A Hakutaka Shinkansen train of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line runs past bullet trains that were inundated in Typhoon No. 19, in Nagano on Oct. 25. (Yuta Takahashi)

The Hokuriku Shinkansen resumed direct service on Oct. 25 between Tokyo Station and Kanazawa Station in Ishikawa Prefecture, 13 days after nearly a dozen of its trains were submerged in floodwaters caused by Typhoon No. 19.

As there continues to be a shortage of bullet trains for the line, temporary timetables have been introduced for the various trains that service the route.

The fastest Kagayaki Shinkansen between Tokyo and Kanazawa are operating at 90 percent of the normal timetable, while the slower Hakutaka Shinkansen is at 100 percent, running the same number of trains as before the typhoon.

The Asama Shinkansen service between Tokyo and Nagano Station in Nagano Prefecture is running at about 70 percent.

The Hokuriku Shinkansen Line originally had 30 bullet trains. However, 10 stationed at a rail yard in Nagano were inundated by floodwaters as high as 4.5 meters that breached embankments of the Chikumagawa river.

As railroads and signal equipment were also submerged, service along the line had to be suspended between Nagano Station and Joetsu-myoko Station in Niigata Prefecture.

Railway operator East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) said it is considering using bullet trains being newly built for the Joetsu Shinkansen Line as replacements, but noted it would be difficult to increase train operations in time for the year-end and New Year holidays.

Kaoru Fujiwara, 60, who lives in Kanazawa, was among the many passengers who boarded the first train to Tokyo Station at 6 a.m. on Oct. 25.

"I'm relieved that the line has been restored, as I'm with my grandchild, who is in the second grade of elementary school," she said, heading to Tokyo Disneyland with her three family members. "If we had used another train, it would have taken five hours to reach our destination."

A man in his 50s who lives in Kanazawa and often travels between his home and Tokyo said: “I can't make it to early morning meetings using air travel. I'm pleased with the full restoration (of the line)."

When the first train to leave Tokyo Station the same morning arrived at Kanazawa Station before 9 a.m., employees of ryokan inns and hotels welcomed visitors with a banner reading, "Welcome to Ishikawa Prefecture.”

(This article was written by Masashi Kisanuki, Minoru Ito and Ayateru Hosozawa.)