Four Maintenance Workers Killed by Train Collision at Japan's Shin-Kanuma Station

Four railway maintenance workers died after being hit by a rapid train at Shin-Kanuma Station, located north of Tokyo, early on Thursday morning. The incident occurred approximately 02:40 local time (17:40 GMT Wednesday) while the men were undertaking track maintenance. Reports indicate the workers were positioned near a railway crossing when the collision took place.

The Tobu Nikko Line train, travelling from Shinjuku towards Nikko, was carrying two drivers but no passengers at the time of the collision. It struck the workers at a level crossing approximately 100 metres from the station platform.

Emergency services confirmed all four individuals were deceased at the scene. They were identified as company employees aged between 20 and 50 years old. Local police are investigating the precise cause of the accident, with the Japan Transport Safety Board also dispatching investigators to the site.

This fatality follows a recent trend of increasing industrial accidents in Japan's railway sector. The incident spotlights long-standing criticisms of the country's stringent work schedules and the pressure on infrastructure companies to maintain operational efficiency, often at the expense of worker safety protocols.