Local officials are calling the derailment of a tram in the southern Japanese city of Kumamoto an “emergency.” The publicly owned tram operator has suffered a series of problems this year.
A two-car tram went the wrong direction and derailed at a switch on Friday morning. It went nearly 5 meters before the driver stopped and reversed the tram, putting the wheels back on the rails.
Neither of the two passengers, nor the two crew members, were injured.
Just the previous day, city officials had compiled an interim report on preventing problems involving the tram service, following nine incidents this year. Two could have led to major accidents. In one case, a tram started running with its doors open.
The Kumamoto City Transportation Bureau says it does not know when service between the affected stops will resume. The site is closed while investigators determine the cause of the accident.
A senior official offered an apology, and said it is an organizational emergency that the city bureau takes seriously.