A major power failure brought one of the world's busiest and most reliable rail networks to a standstill on Friday morning, creating commuter scenes that would dwarf even the busiest London rush hour at stations like Euston.
System Paralysis in the Japanese Capital
The disruption began in the early hours of Friday, January 16, 2026, when a power outage halted services on the East Japan Railway's critical Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines. These lines form a vital loop and artery through central Tokyo, ferrying millions of passengers daily across a network that serves up to 40 million people.
Trains were cancelled for hours, leaving large crowds packed into stations while other passengers were stranded inside carriages stuck between stops. Station staff were forced to block access to platforms to manage safety, creating severe bottlenecks at some of the city's busiest hubs.
Passenger Ordeal and Emergency Response
The impact on commuters was severe and immediate. One frustrated passenger took to social media to declare both lines "f***ed," noting that transferring to the Ueno line was also rendered "impossible." The human cost became clear as five people reportedly felt sick while waiting trapped on trains and had to be taken to hospital.
Footage from the scene showed firefighters and railway staff working to evacuate stranded commuters from carriages on the Keihin-Tohoku route. With the rail system paralysed, alternative transport was overwhelmed. Taxi ranks were inundated with anxious commuters, and some people, as reported by the Japan Times, opted to walk for an hour to reach their destinations.
Investigating the Cause of the Chaos
Authorities are investigating two mysterious incidents believed to have caused the cascading failure. Railway staff first discovered an outage between Shimbashi and Shinagawa stations just before 4am local time, initially blamed on faulty electrical equipment.
Then, at around 8am (11pm GMT on Thursday), a fire was spotted near Tamachi Station, with flames seen coming from a substation, according to public broadcaster NHK. Investigators are now working to determine if these two events are linked.
This unprecedented breakdown highlights the vulnerability of even the most efficient systems. For context, on the UK railways, some of the worst disruption last year occurred during the July heatwave, with over 6% of trains cancelled on July 12 alone, according to the Office of Rail and Road. However, the scale of disruption in Tokyo, a city reliant on its famously punctual network, was of a different magnitude entirely.
