Kyoto Station's Water Incident Impacts 85,000, Leading to Train Suspension and Delays

JR West Japan train operations were significantly impacted by a water treatment operation that occurred within Kyoto Station around 4:35 PM on May 5th. According to JR West Japan, a total of 80 trains were suspended, affecting approximately 85,000 passengers.

Due to this incident, most JR lines passing through Kyoto Station, including those heading towards Osaka and Kobe, experienced complete suspensions and delays. The following are the affected lines and sections:

- Osaka Direction - Kyoto Line: Complete suspension across all sections - Koya Line: Complete suspension across all sections - Biwako Line: Complete suspension across all sections - Sanyo Line: One line completely suspended, multiple lines delayed - Kyushu Line: Complete suspension across all sections

- Kobe Direction - Kobe Line: One line completely suspended, multiple lines delayed - Fukuchiyama Line: One line completely suspended, multiple lines delayed - Shinkansen: Multiple lines delayed

Furthermore, numerous private railway lines operating in Kyoto, including Hankyu, Hanshin, Keihan, Nankai, and Kintetsu, experienced complete suspensions and delays in sections near Kyoto Station.

JR West Japan explained that normal operations resumed after the completion of the water treatment work. However, acknowledging the significant impact of this incident, they stated that they will implement preventive measures to avoid similar situations in the future.

Meanwhile, although traffic control and access restrictions were implemented around the area, no major disruptions were reported. Some online users speculated that the incident might have been caused by negligence on the part of station users, potentially due to abandoned items. However, the exact cause of the incident remains unclear.