Fire causes power outage on Tokyo train lines, thousands stranded as ‘operations halted’

A railway power outage in Tokyo disrupted the morning commute for thousands on ‌Friday, January 16, 2026, as two main lines with some of ‌the world's busiest stations were halted after reports of a fire.

East Japan railway announces the stoppage of trains on the Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines

Trains were halted in ⁠all directions with ‌no timetable for resumption, the railway said.

A fire was reported on ‍the tracks near Tamachi Station, where both lines stopped shortly before 8 a.m. (2300 GMT) on Thursday, January 15, 2026, informed public broadcaster NHK.

What caused the train fire?

NHK reported the flames were ‌coming from a transformer in the track area, and the fire was nearly extinguished about 30 minutes later.

Passengers were seen disembarking from a Keihin-Tohoku train stranded ⁠between stations and walking along the tracks to evacuate, assisted by firefighters and railway staff, as seen in footage provided by the media outlet.

The Yamanote Line is the busiest medium and an important route for commute, as it caters millions of passengers on a daily basis.

The railway line passes through stations including Shinjuku, which handles about 3.5 million passengers daily.

⁠Additionally, the Keihin-Tohoku Line also serves major hubs such as ‌Tokyo and Yokohama.