FUKUOKA - Kyushu Railway Co. said Thursday it will fully resume Kyushu Shinkansen bullet train services on Sept. 18, after operations on part of the line were suspended following a powerful earthquake that struck southwestern Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture last month.
The railway operator, known as JR Kyushu, suspended all shinkansen services after the magnitude-7.1 quake on July 28, which registered the maximum 7 on Japan's seismic intensity scale and killed more than 30 people.
Services have since resumed gradually as safety checks were completed. The operator said it will resume running bullet trains between Kumamoto and Shin-Minamata stations, the remaining disabled part, on Sept. 18.
JR Kyushu also said local train services on the quake-hit section of the Kagoshima Line in Kumamoto Prefecture are expected to resume around mid-October.
