Kyushu bullet trains run again after big earthquake

Bullet trains^*1 in the south of Japan will run again on Friday, September 18. The trains stopped after a big earthquake^*2 on July 28.

JR Kyushu, a train company on Kyushu, an island in the south of Japan, announced the news on August 27. The company runs the Kyushu Shinkansen. This is a fast train line. It goes from Hakata Station to Kagoshima-Chuo Station.

The earthquake hit Kumamoto, an area on Kyushu. After the earthquake, trains between Kumamoto Station and Shin-Minamata Station could not run. On September 18, they will start again with the first train of the day.

Trains between Hakata Station and Kumamoto Station will run at the same times as before. But between Kumamoto Station and Kagoshima-Chuo Station, the trains will go more slowly near Shin-Yatsushiro Station. So trains going south will arrive at Kagoshima-Chuo Station up to about 8 minutes late. Trains going north will leave Kagoshima-Chuo Station up to about 9 minutes earlier than before.

Some trains go from Kagoshima-Chuo Station straight to Honshu, the main island of Japan. About 90 percent^*3 of these trains will run, compared with the time before the earthquake.

A slower local line^*4 is also still closed. This is the Kagoshima Main Line between Uto Station and Yatsushiro Station. JR Kyushu hopes to open it again around the middle of October.

1. *1 Bullet trains: very fast trains that go between big cities
2. *2 earthquake: when the ground shakes very hard and can break roads and buildings
3. *3 percent: a part of 100; 90 percent means 90 out of every 100
4. *4 local line: a normal, slower train line that stops at many small stations