East Japan Railway Co. said Tuesday that all lines of its Tohoku Shinkansen will resume services on April 14 after a powerful earthquake hit northeastern Japan and derailed one of its bullet trains nearly three weeks ago.
But the lines will operate on temporary timetables until after the Golden Week holidays in early May, JR East said, as trains will need to run at reduced speeds and at a lower frequency between Koriyama Station in Fukushima Prefecture and Ichinoseki Station in Iwate Prefecture.
Speeds will be reduced from the usual 320 kilometers per hour to 160 kph, and about 80 or 90 percent of available trains will run on the adjusted timetables, JR East said.
The magnitude 7.4 quake on March 16 derailed a Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train in Shiroishi, Miyagi Prefecture, causing the suspension of services in areas stretching from Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo, to Iwate Prefecture.
Damage to trains and infrastructure is estimated at up to 20 billion yen ($163 million), with the company also expecting a revenue fall of 12 billion yen.
JR East has gradually restored its services in the affected areas, although operations between Fukushima Station and Sendai Station in Miyagi Prefecture remain suspended.
JR East President Yuji Fukasawa said he has received reports that five people were hurt in the derailment.
"We apologize for those injured and to the many people inconvenienced by the service suspensions," he told a press conference.
Related coverage:
Bullet trains back in service between Iwate and Miyagi after quake
JR says will take 2 weeks to remove bullet train derailed by quake
Tragedy avoided on quake-hit derailed shinkansen from lessons learned
