Four railway workers died after a limited express train struck them at Shin-Kanuma Station, north of Tokyo, while their team was carrying out vegetation-control work.
Tobu Railway, which operates the line, said the collision occurred at approximately 10:46 a.m. local time. The four men, who were in their 50s and 60s, had been spraying herbicide as part of a crew of 10 at the site.
The wider team included a supervisor and three people assigned to watch for trains and warn colleagues. Under the system described by the railway, lookouts generally signal an approaching driver with a yellow flag and use whistles and microphones to alert workers. A company representative said the customary lookout arrangements were operating, but officials had not established why those safeguards failed to prevent the deaths.
Police began examining whether safety procedures were followed. At a news conference, railway officials did not provide a clear answer when repeatedly asked whether someone had been actively watching for trains immediately before the collision. That unresolved point is central to the investigation, alongside the precise positioning of the workers and the alerts, if any, given before impact.
The train made an emergency stop after the incident. One passenger told Japanese broadcaster NHK that an unusual sound was heard beforehand and that passengers remained aboard for a period while staff investigated. No injuries among passengers were reported in the supplied evidence.
Services on the Tobu Nikko Line were suspended because of the accident. The evidence did not state when normal operations resumed or how many journeys were disrupted.
The collision took place at a station, but the supplied account did not specify whether the workers were on a platform, beside the track or within the path of the train at the moment of impact.\n\nTobu Railway general manager Takao Suzuki expressed condolences to the victims' families and apologised both to those affected and to customers inconvenienced by the disruption.
Limited express services rank below Japan's Shinkansen bullet trains in speed, according to the report. Although Japan depends heavily on an extensive rail system, fatal train incidents are uncommon. That broader safety record does not resolve the operational questions raised at Shin-Kanuma, where a work crew and a scheduled train occupied the same area.
Authorities and the operator had not announced a final cause in the available account. Their inquiries were focused on whether established protections were applied and why the warning process did not keep the four workers clear of the approaching train.
