Early on the morning of December 12 around 5:00 AM, a dramatic rail accident occurred in Kitaakita City, Akita Prefecture, Japan. The first southbound Akita Nairiku Line train traveling from Aniai toward Kakunodate—carrying no passengers—struck a massive fallen Japanese cedar tree lying across the tracks less than five minutes after departure, causing the single-car train to derail and overturn.
The male driver in his 50s was the sole occupant. Following the derailment, he was pinned inside the severely crushed driver’s cabin. Rescue teams deployed hydraulic extrication tools, working continuously for nearly three hours before successfully pulling him free.
Though suffering facial lacerations and full-body trauma, the driver remained conscious and was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The accident took place near Kayanuma Station. Responding police confirmed that a large cedar tree felled by gale-force winds lay horizontally across the railway tracks, pinpointing it as the direct cause of the catastrophic derailment.
Due to the severity of the incident, the entire section of the Akita Nairiku Line between Aniai and Kakunodate has been suspended indefinitely. Renowned as a scenic mountain railway winding deep through northern Akita’s countryside, the line has left local commuters and rail enthusiasts stunned by the sheer danger posed by storm-related tree falls.
Fortunately, as this was the first outbound positioning run of the morning, no passengers were aboard—preventing what could have been a catastrophic multi-casualty disaster.
Police and railway operators are conducting a full investigation. Authorities have urged residents and mountain transport operators across Japan’s Tohoku region to maintain extreme vigilance against falling trees amid seasonal gale winds.
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