JR East to shorten operating hours in Tokyo amid labor, financial issues
Source: Xinhua | 2020-09-04
East Japan Railway Co. on Thursday said that from spring the departure times of the last trains in the Tokyo metropolitan area would be brought forward by 30 minutes as the number of late-night commuters has dropped due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The lines that will be affected include the Yamanote loop line as well as the Keihin Tohoku and Sobu Lines among others in the metropolitan area, the operator said, with the aim being to have all trains reach their final destinations by 1:00 a.m. local time.
Shinkansen bullet train services and limited express services will not be affected by the time change, it also said.
The move comes as JR East is also aiming to improve working conditions for its maintenance workers who work overnight shifts after the trains have stopped running.
The operator said that in some instances the maintenance crews were having to carry out their work manually due to them not having enough time to install the usual automated equipment.
The trains stopping earlier would give the crews more time to carry out their work, JR East said.
In a further move towards enhancing efficiency and cutting costs following the operator reporting a net loss of 155.3 billion yen (1.46 billion U.S. dollars) in the April-June period, JR East said it is also mulling pushing back the times of the first trains departing in the morning.
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