SPLAT!

This just in:

NAGOYA — All bullet train services on Japan Railway’s Tokaido Line were suspended between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka stations Wednesday morning after a train hit and killed a person as it passed Shizuoka Station, JR and police said.

Shizuoka police said the Nozomi No. 61, bound for Hiroshima from Tokyo, hit a man at around 8:30 a.m. Police said they have unconfirmed information that he fell from the platform seconds before the train approached. The Nozomi, the fastest train in the JR network, boasts a top speed of 300 kilometers per hour and links Tokyo and Osaka in about 2 1/2 hours.

I wonder how much the family of the victim will have to pay JR?

Update: Mainichi’s story states that, ” the train continued for several kilometers after the driver applied the brakes.” It must have been travelling at a pretty high speed to need that much space to break. I’d hate to be the guy who has to clean up the mess after such an incident.

Update 2:　　The Japan Times has further details, plus a wonderful photo of the damage inflicted on the train:

JR Tokai and Shizuoka police identified the man as Yosuke Sudo, 31, an employee of JR Tokai, after his lapel pin was found near the site. They believe he committed suicide.

Shizuoka police said the Nozomi No. 61, bound for Hiroshima from Tokyo, was on the run-through, or passing, track when it hit a man at around 8:30 a.m. Nozomi express trains normally travel at 200 kph through Shizuoka Station on the passing track, which is separated from the platform by the siding used for trains that stop, JR Tokai said.

Police quoted a witness as saying the victim, who was wearing a suit, descended from the platform and got onto the passing track just before the bullet train arrived.

[...]

The impact created a hole in the nose of the train, which came to a halt about 2 km past the station, where it remained for two hours. The train later went to the next station, Kakegawa, to let passengers disembark and catch connecting trains.

A 59-year-old passenger who was on the second car of the train on his way back to Hiroshima from a business trip to Tokyo, said he felt an impact when the train struck the man.

The Nozomi, the fastest train in the JR network, boasts a top speed of 300 kph and links Tokyo and Osaka in about 2 1/2 hours.

The article also says that the man worked at the JR Tokai office in Shizuoka, which might mean his coworkers were the ones who had to clean up his mess. Quite a way to say your final “fuck you” to the world.