2022 Volume 17 Issue 2 Pages 230-248
This paper analyzes a frontal impact accident of a limited express train on the Kintetsu Railway Osaka line in 1971 as a case study of railway accidents that have prompted little interest compared to natural disasters. The results clarified three points: 1) the railway line had been constructed with some sloped sections for economic reasons (including construction costs and the cost of excavating the Aoyama tunnel); 2) the Kaito signal station had been constructed for up-trains on a slope section;, and 3) its security systems were woefully inadequate for down-trains. Since some of the villages that were originally located along this interval had been remotely relocated by the railway line, communication during an emergency was generally insufficient, and it was difficult for rescue workers to reach the area quickly due to its remote location.
