A signboard at JR Hakata Station notifying passengers of Sanyo Shinkansen bullet train service suspensions is seen on the morning of Sept. 17, 2021. (Mainichi/Toyokazu Tsumura)

       FUKUOKA -- West Japan Railway Co. is suspending shinkansen bullet train services and reducing bullet train numbers from the afternoon of Sept. 17 due to Typhoon Chanthu approaching western Japan.

       According to the railway operator, bullet train services on the Sanyo Shinkansen Line between Hiroshima and Hakata stations will be suspended after the Nozomi No. 34 train leaves Hakata Station at 1:39 p.m. and the Nozomi No. 23 train departs Hiroshima Station at 2:04 p.m. The Sakura No. 555 train leaving Hiroshima Station at 1:33 p.m. will be the last directly connecting to the Kyushu Shinkansen Line. Bullet trains between Shin-Osaka and Hiroshima stations will be reduced in number, with only around two to six trains available per hour.

       Kyushu Railway Co. is also suspending some limited express services, including the Sonic train between Hakata and Oita stations, mainly on the afternoon of Sept. 17. Kyushu Shinkansen bullet trains will run as normal between Hakata and Kagoshima-Chuo stations.

       (Japanese original by Hiroshi Higa, Kyushu News Department)

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