張力調整装置の破損が原因か　新幹線停電―ＪＲ東

　東北、上越、北陸各新幹線が停電で運休した問題で、ＪＲ東日本は２４日、架線の張力を調整する装置の一部が破損し、架線が垂れ下がったことが停電の原因となった可能性があると明らかにした。同社は今月末までに、管内約５００カ所に設置された装置を緊急点検する方針。
　ＪＲ東によると、破損したのは１トン超の重りで架線を引っ張る「自動張力調整装置」。停電が発生した上野―大宮間の上り線では長さ約１．３キロの架線両側に装置が取り付けられていたが、うち一方の装置の鉄製の棒状部品が壊れていた。
　破損により架線は張力を失い、約１５０メートルにわたって垂れ下がった。この場所に２３日午前１０時ごろ、北陸新幹線「かがやき５０４号」が通過したことで、停電が発生したとみられる。（2024/01/24-19:08）

Tuesday's large-scale suspension of the Tohoku, Joetsu and Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train lines may have been caused by the failure of a device that adjusts the tension of overhead power cables, East Japan Railway Co., or JR East, officials said Wednesday.
   The railway operator plans to conduct emergency inspections of such equipment at 500 locations in its service area by the end of this month. Most of the affected Shinkansen services resumed Wednesday.
   According to JR East, one of the tension adjustment devices at both ends of a 1.3-kilometer cable between Ueno and Omiya stations was found to be damaged. The cable sagged due to the device problem.
   The power outage that led to the suspension is believed to have occurred when a Hokuriku Shinkansen train passed through the section with the sagging cable at around 10 a.m. Tuesday.
   The device in question had been in service for 38 years, while JR East's internal standards call for tension adjustment equipment to be replaced after 30 years of use.