By TAKASHI OGAWA/ Staff Writer
January 16, 2023 at 17:55 JST
(Illustration by Akinori Yonezawa)
Falling objects pose a danger at rail facilities in Japan with at least 184 reported cases during the three-year period until fiscal 2021, and at least two people injured in two of those instances.
According to infrastructure ministry documents obtained by The Asahi Shimbun, 42 such incidents occurred in fiscal 2019. In fiscal 2020, 77 were reported. In fiscal 2021, 65 were logged.
The locations varied from a tunnel to an elevated bridge, and from a station building’s ceiling to a platform.
Many of the falling objects were made of concrete and mortar.
Notable causes of these incidents were corrosion due to water leakage and degradation from aging.
Under a ministerial order, railway operators conduct a regular inspection at railway facilities by a visual check and a hammering test.
For tunnels and bridges, the central government sets a concrete standard for maintenance and requires operators to conduct an inspection once every two years.
But for station buildings and other facilities, there is no specific guideline.
The infrastructure ministry asked railway operators to submit a report when an object that weighs 1 kilogram or more falls at a rail facility.
When receiving a report, the central government issues a letter to operators nationwide to let them know of the incident and calls their attention to it.
In 2012, nine people died when massive concrete ceiling panels collapsed at Sasago Tunnel on the Chuo Expressway.
After the accident, the ministry made the request to report falling objects to more than 200 operators nationwide.
In some cases, railway operators disclosed an incident through the news media.
Kiyoyuki Kaido, an associate professor of civil and earth resources engineering at Osaka University, said it is difficult to completely prevent falling objects at public facilities.
However, he said it is possible to predict the likelihood by collecting and analyzing data, such as what and how often objects have fallen and where.
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