Two Japanese rail operators have decided to discard ten 12-car bullet trains that were damaged by the Typhoon Hagibis last month.
Eight of the ten trains were owned by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), while the remaining two were operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West).
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Last month, Typhoon Hagibis caused widespread destruction in Japan and severely affected train services.
The trains that are being scrapped were damaged when rainwater entered Hokuriku Shinkansen depot in Nagano after the Chikuma River overflowed.
The combined book value of the eight trains of JR East being scrapped is estimated to be JPY11.8bn ($108m), while the two JR West trains are worth JPY3bn ($27.5m).
In a press conference, JR East president Yuji Fukasawa stated that the trains are being scrapped to ensure stability and safety of the trains.
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By GlobalDataThe train service is currently running at 80% as the damaged trains made up for one-third of the fleet.
JR East added it plans to recover any usable components of the trains.
The companies have planned to replace the trains and will now use the remaining Shinkansen trains to restore full service.
Fukasawa said: “We aim to restore 100% services by the end of the current business year.”
Both rail operators have planned to write off the book value as special loss for the financial year.
The rail services on the Tokyo- Kanazawa and Ishikawa Prefecture resumed on 25 October.
In May, Japan started testing the high-speed bullet train Alfa-X, that is capable of travelling at a speed of 400km/h.
JR East plans to operate the train at 360km/h, replacing China’s Fuxing Hao train as the fastest bullet train in the world.
