UTSUNOMIYA, Japan - Train operator Tobu Railway Co. said Friday the express train that hit and killed four workers removing weeds on the tracks the day before was entering the station at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour.
Police have been interviewing workers who were at the site when the accident involving a Spacia X train occurred at Shin-kanuma Station on the Tobu Nikko Line on Thursday morning, with the view that they could build a case of professional negligence resulting in death.
Police in Tochigi Prefecture near Tokyo are trying to get a fuller picture of the deadly accident, including whether the train driver of the six-car Spacia X train applied its emergency brakes and information regarding the approaching train was properly shared among workers. The transport ministry has dispatched investigators.
In a document issued Thursday, the Kanto District Transport Bureau urged the train operator to investigate the cause, take preventive measures, and do all it can to ensure operational safety.
The express train bound for Asakusa in Tokyo was due to stop at Shin-kanuma Station and was approaching the platform at the time of the accident at around 10:45 a.m. Thursday, killing four male workers in their 50s and 60s. None of the crew or about 50 passengers were injured.
According to Tobu Railway, lookouts had been placed around 300 meters away and at a point much closer to the station where the four workers were doing the weeding, but that they were "unable to communicate" at the time.
The train driver, meanwhile, sounded the horn after confirming that the lookout near the station had signaled with a flag that all the workers had left the tracks, according to the operator.
A Tobu Railway official said the company thought it could carry out the work safely during the day providing the necessary precautionary measures were in place.
