Four workers dead after being hit by train in Japan

Four Track Workers Killed When Struck by Train Near Tokyo

The Collision at Shin-Kanuma Station

Ninoda.com – Authorities confirmed that four employees lost their lives after a train struck them at Shin-Kanuma Station, located north of Tokyo. According to Tobu Railway, the operator of the affected line, the workers had been applying herbicide when the impact occurred at approximately 10:46 local time (01:46 GMT).

Police reported that upon arrival, emergency responders found three of the workers pinned beneath the train while a fourth lay on the platform. Tobu Railway subsequently halted all service along the Tobu Nikko Line pending investigation.

Passenger Account and the Train Involved

A rider aboard the service described hearing a “strange noise” shortly before the train executed an emergency stop, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK. Passengers remained confined to the carriages for a period while crew members assessed the source of the sound.

The vehicle involved was a limited express train — the second-fastest category in Japan’s rail system, trailing only the Shinkansen bullet trains. Lethal rail collisions remain uncommon in a country that depends on an extensive railway network for daily transit.

Questions Over the Lookout Protocol

Under standard procedure, a station employee positioned near the tracks alerts workers to oncoming trains. The Asahi Shimbun noted, however, that details of whether that safeguard was active on the morning of Thursday’s incident remained unclear.

“The usual lookout system was operating as normal – when a train approaches, a lookout waves a flag and, once the driver acknowledges it, sounds the horn,” a representative from Tobu Railway told the BBC. “We are currently investigating why the accident occurred despite this.”