Rail Links to Narita Airport Disrupted as Typhoon Damage Lingers

JR East said the Uchibo Line between Chiba and Kisarazu will remain suspended throughout September 22 because of soil and debris that flowed onto the tracks between Anegasaki and Nagaura.

Services between Kisarazu and Awa-Kamogawa are expected to resume around the evening, subject to restoration work and safety inspections. No substitute bus service is being provided.

The Kururi Line is also suspended for the entire day.

On the Sotobo Line, trains are operating only as far as Honda, with services between Honda and Katsura expected to resume around the evening and the section between Katsura and Awa-Kamogawa around the night.

The Togane Line, Sobu Main Line, Narita Line and Kashima Line are also facing major disruption.

Of particular concern on the morning of September 22 is the loss of JR rail access to Narita Airport.

The Sobu Main Line between Chiba and Naruto and the Narita Line between Chiba, Narita and Narita Airport were suspended from the first trains after the Takasaki River flooded near Sakura Station.

JR East said there was no estimate for when services would resume.

The disruption means the normal JR route between central Chiba and Narita Airport is unavailable during the morning rush.

Narita Express services are also affected by the disruption around Sakura, adding to difficulties for passengers trying to reach or leave the airport.

Keisei services were also disrupted after flooding affected the area around Sakura, compounding the loss of rail connections between Narita Airport and the Tokyo metropolitan area.

The problems follow serious disruption at Narita on the night of September 21, when about 2,600 passengers were unable to leave the airport after JR and Keisei services stopped operating.

Narita International Airport distributed sleeping bags, drinking water and food to stranded passengers who were forced to spend the night inside the terminals.

The airport said some flights were still experiencing cancellations and delays on September 22 and warned passengers to check both their flight status and ground transport before traveling.

Air services overall are recovering substantially compared with September 21.

ANA no longer lists Haneda or Narita among airports facing broad typhoon-related disruption on September 22, although Hachijojima remains at risk because of strong winds.

ANA said international services were not expected to face widespread weather-related disruption on September 22.

The recovery follows extensive cancellations on September 21, when ANA and Japan Airlines canceled hundreds of flights centered on Haneda and Narita, affecting tens of thousands of passengers nationwide.

Many travelers are now trying to rebook during the final two days of the five-day Silver Week holiday, placing additional pressure on flights and alternative transport.

Road travel remains severely restricted in Chiba.

The Tateyama Expressway remained closed over a long section on the morning of September 22, with restrictions extending from the Chiba area south toward the Boso Peninsula.

The section from Anagawa Interchange to Tomiura remained closed, severely limiting highway access toward Kisarazu, Kimitsu, Futtsu, Tateyama and southern Boso.

National Route 127 also remains closed between Futtsu and Kyonan after rainfall exceeded safety limits and landslides affected the corridor.

Numerous local roads remain blocked by landslides, flooding and fallen debris.

In Sodegaura, at least 16 locations were affected by road closures, while Kisarazu had restrictions on eight routes. Futtsu reported four affected routes, while Kimitsu had at least 10 road closures and another traffic restriction.

The extensive road closures are also preventing a rapid return of bus services.

Highway buses connecting Kisarazu, Kimitsu, Goi, Soga and other parts of Chiba with Haneda Airport, Tokyo, Yokohama and Kawasaki were suspended during September 21 as expressways and local roads became impassable.

Operators are expected to resume services route by route after confirming that roads are safe, rather than restarting the entire network at once.

Local bus services are also badly affected in southern Boso.

In Minamiboso and surrounding areas, multiple bus routes remain suspended, leaving communities with few alternatives while JR services are halted.

Kominato Railway services were also suspended from the first trains on September 22, with operations expected to resume only after track inspections and safety checks are completed.

The Tokaido Shinkansen and most major rail lines in central Tokyo have meanwhile returned toward normal operation after avoiding the prolonged disruption seen in Chiba.

No broad weather-related suspension has been announced for the Tokaido Shinkansen on September 22.

The main Yamanote, Keihin-Tohoku, Chuo, Tokaido, Yokosuka, Utsunomiya, Takasaki and Joban lines are also largely operating, although localized delays remain possible as rolling stock and crews are repositioned following September 21 disruptions.

The Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line and other expressways around Tokyo were heavily restricted during the peak of the storm, but road conditions are now improving unevenly as inspections proceed.

The largest remaining transport problems are concentrated east and south of Tokyo, where flooding and landslides caused physical damage rather than merely forcing preventive closures.

The disruption has therefore shifted from a typhoon-related shutdown to a recovery operation.

Railway crews are removing soil and inspecting tracks, road authorities are clearing landslides and checking bridges and embankments, while airlines are trying to accommodate passengers stranded by the large number of cancellations on September 21.

Typhoon No. 25 was moving rapidly northeast away from Japan early on September 22, and rainfall had ended across much of Kanto.

However, the effects of the storm are expected to continue well beyond the improvement in weather, particularly in Chiba, where river flooding, landslides and infrastructure damage have left parts of the transport network unable to return to normal.

Travelers using Narita Airport or heading into the Boso Peninsula are being urged to check railway, highway, bus and airline information immediately before departure, with some routes likely to remain unavailable for much of September 22.

Source: FNN