Ten bullet trains partially submerged by floodwater from Typhoon Hagibis last month are to be scrapped, East Japan Railway Company confirmed on Wednesday. The Hokuriku-Shinkansen line trains were parked in a yard in Nagano city when the typhoon struck on 12-13 October.
The loss to the book value of the trains could be between $110m and $135m (£85m-£104m), according to Japanese media. The trains each had 12 carriages and ran on the line connecting Tokyo with Kanazawa on the west coast.
East Japan Railway Company's president Yuji Fukasawa said at a press briefing that floodwater damaged key components, including motors and braking systems. 'In terms of stability and safety it is appropriate' to scrap the trains and bring in new ones, he said.
His company owned eight of the trains; the other two, owned by West Japan Railway Company, will also be scrapped. The trains made up one-third of services on the line at the time of the flooding.
Mr Fukasawa said the company aims to restore 100% services on the line by the end of the current business year in March. Typhoon Hagibis struck with winds of 225km/h, killing about 90 people and displacing thousands with flooding.
