(Update) Kansai Railway Line Suspended Due to Collision with Wheelchair User, Wheelchair Caught Fire

From Kansai News Web

November 7 2023

HYOGO – According to the police and fire department, a wheelchair and an express train collided at Hanshin Electric Railway’s Mukogawa Station around 5:50PM p.m. on November 7th.

A wheelchair on the platform of a Hanshin Electric Railway Mukogawa Station in Komatsunan-cho 1, Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, caught fire when a wheelchair on the platform collided with a direct limited express train from Osaka Umeda to Sanyo-Himeji that was passing by. The limited express train came to an emergency stop at the scene.

An elderly man in a wheelchair was injured in the accident and taken to the hospital, but the extent of his injuries is unknown.

As a result of this, Hanshin Electric Railway has suspended service on the up and down lines between Amagasaki Station and Koshien Station in Hyogo Prefecture.

The wheelchair caught fire during the accident, and according to The Kobe Shimbun, the fire may have started from the battery. The fire was extinguished about 40 minutes later, but the man in the wheelchair was injured and taken to the hospital.