Train Traveling at 150km/h Left Cockpit Unattended... Japanese Engineer Says "Stomach Ache"

Japan's high-speed train, the Shinkansen

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] A controversy has arisen after it was revealed that a train engineer in Japan left his seat during operation and entrusted driving to a conductor without a license.

On the 16th (local time), CNN reported on the 21st that Engineer A (36), who was driving a Shinkansen train running between Atami and Mishima in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, left the driver's cabin to use the restroom. At the time, the train was carrying 160 passengers and traveling at 150 km/h.

According to the report, A temporarily entrusted the work to a conductor and left his seat for about 3 minutes.

According to the regulations of the Japanese railway company JR Central, if an engineer is not feeling well, they must contact the control center and obtain permission to have a conductor take over driving. At this time, the conductor must have a driving license.

However, the conductor to whom A entrusted the work did not have a train driving license. CNN reported that the conductor mainly assists passengers boarding and alighting or manages the passenger cars, and does not drive the train.

When this fact became known and caused controversy, Engineer A apologized, saying that his restroom use took longer due to stomach pain. He explained that he entrusted the work to the conductor because he did not want to cause a train delay by stopping at a nearby station.

JR Central also issued an official apology and reported the incident to the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. They also stated that they would strengthen conductor training and operational safety rules and are considering disciplinary actions against Engineer A and the conductor.

Fortunately, there was no accident on this Shinkansen train, but it was a moment that could have led to a major accident.

According to JR Central, this is the first time a Shinkansen engineer left the driver's cabin while passengers were on board, but in Japan, apologies are often issued when trains fail to keep time. In 2018, there was strong criticism when it was revealed that a train departed 25 seconds early from a platform due to no passengers being present, and the Japanese railway authorities apologized, saying, "We caused great inconvenience. This is unacceptable." For a similar reason, in 2017, a similar apology was issued when a Tsukuba limited express train departed 20 seconds early.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.