Power outage halts Tokyo commuter train lines, affecting 673,000 passengers

Tokyo's morning commute was severely disrupted as a power outage halted JR East’s Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines, affecting around 673,000 passengers and causing stranded trains and crowded stations.

Satoshi Sugiyama/Reuters

16 January 2026 at 08:35:54

Passengers evacuated from a stranded train on the Keihin-Tohoku line walk to Tamachi station in Tokyo, Japan, January 16, 2026.

Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

A railway power outage in Tokyo disrupted the morning commute for roughly 673,000 passengers Friday as two main lines servicing some of the world's busiest stations were halted.

Trains on East Japan Railway's (JR East) 9020.T Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines were halted for up to nine hours Friday, the railway operator said.

JR East said a failure to restore power after overnight maintenance work at Tokyo's Tamachi Station left both lines without electricity early Friday. A spokesperson said smoke was seen coming from a track-side equipment box near the station.

Passengers were seen disembarking from a Keihin-Tohoku train stranded between stations and walking along the tracks to evacuate, assisted by firefighters and railway staff. Images on social media showed commuters packing busy stations.

The Yamanote Line passes through stations including Shinjuku, which handles about 3.5 million passengers daily. The Keihin-Tohoku Line serves major hubs such as Tokyo and Yokohama.

-Satoshi Sugiyama/Reuters

Tokyo commuters faced chaos Friday as a power outage halted JR East’s Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines, disrupting travel for over 670,000 passengers.