East Japan Railway Co. started a test run Wednesday on a 20.8-kilometer section of the Joban Line where operations have been suspended due to the 2011 accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
JR East started the test run between Tomioka and Namie stations in Fukushima Prefecture, aiming to fully resume operations on the Joban Line by the end of March next year.
Decontamination work around the stations in the section and the restoration of collapsed bridges have nearly been completed. For the first time since the disaster, a train arrived at the three stations in an area designated as a zone to which it is difficult to return: Yonomori Station in the town of Tomioka, Ono Station in the town of Okuma, and Futaba Station in the town of Futaba.
At about 9:40 a.m., a five-car train departed from Tomioka Station with about 20 staffers, including crew members. The train arrived at Namie Station at about 10:35 a.m. without incident.
The test run will continue until Friday, gradually increasing the speed.
If operations in the section are restarted, the Joban Line will once again connect Tokyo's Ueno Station and Sendai Station. The relevant local governments hope the evacuation order around the three stations will be lifted at the time operations are fully resumed.
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