Shinkansen vehicle evacuation in preparation for flooding JR East's first training

Shinkansen vehicle evacuation in preparation for flooding JR East's first training September 29, 19:18

At the vehicle center of the Hokuriku Shinkansen in Nagano City, where the Chikuma River was flooded by typhoon No. 19 last year and was damaged by large-scale inundation, JR East is expected to inundate the vehicle base due to a typhoon etc. We conducted the first training to evacuate.

At the "Nagano Shinkansen Vehicle Center" on the Hokuriku Shinkansen in Nagano City, the Chikuma River flowing nearby was flooded during the heavy rain disaster caused by Typhoon No. 19 last October, and in addition to power supply equipment, 120 vehicles of 10 trains were submerged in water. It was severely damaged and was scrapped.

Approximately 70 JR East employees participated in the training held at the vehicle center for the first time after the disaster, and assuming that a typhoon of the same scale as last year's typhoon No. 19 is approaching, the procedure for evacuating the vehicle in advance confirmed.

First, a system that predicts the water level of the river from the expected rainfall in the newly developed river basin sounds an alarm informing that there is a risk of inundation, and the staff of the head office and the vehicle center talk over the phone and talk about the vehicle. I decided to evacuate.

Then, the crew boarded the Shinkansen that was parked on the premises and evacuated to JR Nagano Station, which is about 10 km away and unlikely to be flooded.

According to JR East, when evacuating the same 10 trains as the ones damaged last year, it takes about 7 hours to secure an evacuation destination and adjust the timetable, so it is important to be able to make an evacuation decision as soon as possible. ..

Yusuke Konishi, General Manager of the Shinkansen Transportation Vehicle Department of JR East, said, "We have a track record of evacuating vehicles at the time of the heavy rain special warning in July, and we are prepared to evacuate in advance without fear of missed shots. The disaster will be severe. While doing so, I want to prepare well and respond. "

Inundation assumption around the site

The location of the "Nagano Shinkansen Vehicle Center" is close to the confluence of the Chikuma River and its tributaries, and has been flooded many times in 1982 and 1983.

According to the hazard map released by Nagano City in 2007, 10 years after the completion of the rolling stock center, assuming heavy rain once in 100 years, the area around the center may be flooded by 5 meters or more during heavy rain. It was.

After that, according to the hazard map released by Nagano City three months before Typhoon No. 19 last year assuming heavy rain once in 1000 years, the forecast of inundation was raised to more than 10 meters.

The rolling stock center had been raised by 2 meters when it was completed, but the inundation during Typhoon No. 19 last year reached a height of 2.9 meters from the highest point.

Last year's typhoon damage

JR East has set up a countermeasures headquarters when heavy rain damage due to typhoons is expected, and has decided to evacuate vehicles flexibly based on the expected weather conditions.

In Typhoon No. 19 in October last year, we started considering evacuation of vehicles on the 10th, two days before landing in Shizuoka Prefecture, and on the day of landing (12th), we started to consider the vehicles of the Tohoku Shinkansen from the base in Nasushiobara City, Tochigi Prefecture. I was evacuating to another base in Sendai city.

However, when the course of the typhoon shifted slightly to the west, heavy rain occurred around the depot of the Hokuriku Shinkansen in Nagano City, the water level of the nearby Chikuma River rose sharply, and an evacuation order was issued to the basin before dawn on the following day. , It means that there was no time left to evacuate the vehicle.

According to JR East, a 30 cm inundation was confirmed at the depot around 4:30 am, and the inside of the 120 Shinkansen trains of 10 trains was submerged, making it unusable.

All of the Shinkansen trains have been scrapped, and even after a year, some cars are still waiting for scrapping at the base, and work is underway at the depot with the aim of full-scale restoration by the end of the year.

The cost of restoration and future inundation countermeasures is expected to reach 50 billion yen.

There are also issues with hardware measures

The government is demanding not only to evacuate the Shinkansen but also to take hardware measures to maintain the functions of the seven depots nationwide that are expected to be flooded.

Countermeasures are required for the damage at the Nagano Shinkansen Depot, which is expected to be damaged once every 10 to 200 years, and the Torikai Rail Yard in Settsu City, Osaka Prefecture. There are 7 locations nationwide in 5 locations: Yamagata prefecture, Shizuoka prefecture, Okayama prefecture, Hiroshima prefecture, and Kumamoto prefecture, where damage is expected to occur about once every 1000 years.

Specifically, we are requesting that important equipment such as substations for operating the Shinkansen be raised by embankment, and that waterproof doors be installed to prevent water from entering the facility. I will.

However, at the depot in Nagano City, it is necessary to stake deeply even if it is raised because the ground is weak, so what kind of construction method and when to take measures is to ensure safety even in heavy rain. However, even one year after the damage, there is no way to know the timing of construction, such as how to install the waterproof door, which is an issue.

Vehicle evacuation judgment Developed a new system

JR East has developed a new system "Vehicle Evacuation Judgment Support System" that evacuates vehicles based on the expected rainfall in the river basin after being damaged by Typhoon No. 19 last year.

In this system, the amount of rain that has already fallen and the amount of rainfall in the river basin up to 39 hours ahead are predicted, and the "preparation standard" to start evacuation by gathering drivers for evacuation and examining specific evacuation sites. We have set "alarm standards" and decided to make an early decision to evacuate.

At the depot in Nagano City, which was damaged last time, drivers gathered and evacuated based on the "preparation standard" when the amount of rainfall already in the Chikuma River basin and the expected amount of precipitation reached 148 mm or more in 48 hours. Start considering the location.

If the amount of precipitation reaches 186 mm or more, evacuation will be judged as an "alarm standard".

It is estimated that it will take at least 7 hours to evacuate the same 10 Shinkansen trains from the depot as last year, and JR East said, "Don't be afraid to miss the train based on the newly established standards. I want to make a decision. "