Kumamoto train resumes full service after quake | NHK WORLD

Kumamoto train resumes full service after quake

A major train line in the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Kumamoto resumed operations on Saturday for the first time in more than two months. Workers have restored a section of the route that was severely damaged in the massive earthquake in July.

The 25-kilometer section of the JR Kagoshima Main Line between Uto and Yatsushiro stations runs through Uki City and Hikawa Town, which registered an intensity of 7 on the Japanese seismic scale of zero to 7.

Kyushu Railway Company says damage caused by strong tremors in more than 460 locations included deformed railway tracks and the collapse of poles supporting overhead cables.

The completion of recovery work brings the entire Kagoshima Main Line back into service.

The earthquake also knocked out part of the Hisatsu Orange Railway connecting Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures. Service has been suspended between Kumamoto's Yatsushiro and Higo-tanoura stations. The operator says it plans to resume operations from Tuesday morning.