THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
February 16, 2024 at 18:55 JST
Railway workers cheer on Feb. 15 as a train departs from Noto Railway’s Noto Nakajima Station in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, for the first time since the New Year’s Day earthquake suspended operations. (Takuya Tanabe)
NANAO, Ishikawa Prefecture--Commuters and railway workers here cheered as Noto Railway Co. partially resumed operations on Feb. 15, more than six weeks after the New Year’s Day earthquake damaged its tracks.
The JR Nanao Line, which connects to Noto Railway, also resumed full service on the same day. Noto Railway aims to restart service on the remaining sections in early April.
Passengers applauded as the first train of the day left Noto Nakajima Station at 6:31 a.m. with a toot of the whistle.
Noto Railway resumed service on the 11.2-kilometer stretch between Wakura Onsen and Noto Nakajima, while the JR Nanao Line reopened the section between Nanao and Wakura Onsen, which is 5.1 km long.
"I hope that the restoration of the railway will help the region recover from the disaster," said Kazuaki Hasegawa, president of West Japan Railway Co. (JR West), on Feb. 14.
JR West, which owns the Noto Railway's tracks, has been working to restore service on the line as quickly as possible.
(This article was written by Kazuhide Setoguchi and Shuya Iwamoto.)
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