Rokken rail accident

However, at the end of the platform, the driver found that the token was missing, and that the signal displayed “stop”, which indicated that it was unsafe to proceed due to oncoming traffic.

He applied the emergency brakes, but overran the safety barrier, causing the train to derail, with some of the passenger carriages partially on the rails of the main line.

[citation needed] Only 20 seconds later, JNR Limited Express 246, consisting of a JNR Class C57 steam locomotive and eleven passenger cars bound for Nagoya collided with the derailed portion at a speed of 55 km/h.

The courts found both parties guilty of negligence, with the train driver of JNR Limited Express 243 receiving the heavier penalty.

Contributing factors included a delay in the schedule for JNR Limited Express 246 due to festivals at Ise Grand Shrine, an inadequate emergency braking system, and the inability of Rokken Station to send an emergency signal warning to JNR Limited Express 246 after the derailment.