Photo/Illutration A worker was killed at this tunnel construction site of the Linear Chuo Shinkansen Line in Nakatsugawa, Gifu Prefecture. (Nagoya Broadcasting Network Co.)

NAKATSUGAWA, Gifu Prefecture--A tunnel collapse here Oct. 27 killed a 44-year-old construction worker and seriously injured another man in the first fatal accident connected to the enormous magnetic levitation train project.

Gifu prefectural police are looking into the accident as a possible case of professional negligence resulting in death and injury.

The two men were working inside the tunnel with three others when the collapse occurred around 7:20 p.m., according to Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai), which is developing the maglev train system, and other sources.

When emergency responders arrived at the scene, the two workers had been taken outside the tunnel by their colleagues, the Nakatsugawa fire department said.

The two were taken to a hospital in Nakatsugawa, but Takayuki Koita of Mihama, Fukui Prefecture, was confirmed dead there.

The other worker, a 52-year-old from Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture, suffered bone fractures in his left foot, chest and hip.

The accident took place 70 meters from the tunnel entrance where the workers were inspecting the site after dynamite had been set off to dig deeper into the tunnel, according to JR Tokai.

20211028-maglev-map-L

This tunnel will be about 600 meters long upon completion and used to carry building materials for the construction of the 4.4-kilometer Seto tunnel, part of the Linear Chuo Shinkansen Line.

JR Tokai, which operates Tokaido Shinkansen Line services, said it started digging the material-transport tunnel in June and has completed 10 percent of the work.

Maglev trains are expected to connect Tokyo and Nagoya in just 40 minutes, less than half the time of the current bullet train services.

About 86 percent of the 286-km maglev line between the two cities will run through tunnels, posing technological difficulties for JR Tokai.

The project’s costs have been rising, and some local governments have refused to give permission for construction of the line, citing environmental concerns.

Tunnel-related accidents have also occurred in the project, including one in Nagano Prefecture in 2017 and another in Nakatsugawa in 2019.

But the Oct. 27 accident was the first fatal one, the company said.

20211028-maglev-P1-L
The lead car of the magnetic levitation train developed by Central Japan Railway Co. in Tsuru, Yamanashi Prefecture, in 2019 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Related News