A bullet train scheduled to depart Tokyo for Hakata was delayed yesterday after a conductor accidently dropped a 10 yen coin into the casing containing the accelerator lever. The conductor was checking his takings at the end of a journey from Hiroshima to Tokyo when the incident occurred just before 2 p.m. The coin could not be retrieved from the gap, which measured 1.3 by 2.4 centimeters.
A Central Japan Railway spokesman said that there was a danger the coin could obstruct the lever’s movement and cause an accident. It was decided that all of the passengers would be asked to disembark and the entire 16-car bullet train be replaced. The incident caused a delay of around 16 minutes, affecting around 1,100 passengers.
