東北新幹線、２４日全線再開　本数減、所要時間１時間長く―ＪＲ東

　ＪＲ東日本は１９日、福島県沖で１３日夜に発生した地震の影響で、一部区間で運転を見合わせていた東北新幹線について、２４日始発から全線で運転を再開すると発表した。設備に被害が出たため復旧作業を進めていたが、安全確保の見通しがついた。地震発生から１１日ぶりの全線開通となる。
　ＪＲ東によると、２２日始発から仙台―一ノ関間で、２４日始発から那須塩原―仙台間でそれぞれ運転を再開する。再開後も当面の間、一部区間で速度を落として運行するため、列車本数は通常の３分の２程度となり、東京―仙台間や東京―盛岡間の所要時間は１時間程度長くなる。通常ダイヤに戻すのは３月下旬ごろを見込んでいる。
　地震の影響で、新白河―古川間で電柱が折れるなどの被害が出たため、同社は現在、那須塩原―一ノ関間で運転を見合わせている。首都圏と東北地方を結ぶ足を確保するため、東京―那須塩原間や常磐線で臨時列車を運行。航空、高速バス各社も増便を実施している。（2021/02/19-16:44）

East Japan Railway Co. , or JR East, said Friday that services on its Tohoku Shinkansen Line will be available on all sections again from Wednesday, 11 days after a powerful earthquake that partially disrupted the bullet train operations.
   The company, which has been repairing facilities damaged by the quake, said that the completion of safety confirmation work is now in sight. The earthquake, which occurred on Saturday last week, mainly hit the Tohoku region of northeastern Japan.
   The section between Sendai Station in Miyagi Prefecture and Ichinoseki Station in Iwate Prefecture, both in Tohoku, will reopen on Monday, and the section between Sendai and Nasushiobara Station, which is in Tochigi Prefecture, eastern Japan, will go back to services on Wednesday.
   Services have been halted between Nasushiobara and Ichinoseki due to damage from the quake, such as broken electricity poles on the section between Shin-Shirakawa Station in Fukushima Prefecture, part of Tohoku, and Furukawa Station in Miyagi.
   Even after the reopening, the number of trains on the Shinkansen line will be reduced to about two-thirds of normal levels for the time being as trains will slow down on some sections, according to JR East. Travel between Tokyo Station and Sendai and between Tokyo and Morioka Station in Iwate will take about an hour longer than usual.