Japan's largest rail freight company suspends all train operations due to safety inspection fraud

On September 11, Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight) announced the suspension of all freight train operations, causing a shock in Japan's logistics industry. The company is Japan's largest freight train enterprise and the only one that operates freight trains nationwide.

It is reported that the cause of this suspension is improper behavior such as employees forging data in train wheel safety inspections. JR Freight held a press conference on the 10th and apologized for the company's act of falsifying pressure data. After verification, there was an act of falsifying pressure data during the assembly process of freight train axles and wheels. The problem involved a total of 564 carriages. There were falsification problems in the three vehicle depots of the company located in Muroran City, Kawasaki City, and Hiroshima City. Moreover, on the morning of the 11th, the company also announced that in addition to the verified problem vehicles, there may be another 300 carriages that need to be confirmed for data falsification issues.

Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has required JR Freight to conduct an emergency inspection of all its freight trains to ensure the safety of wheel assembly. Affected by this suspension, some parcel delivery services are delayed by at least one day. Japanese logistics companies such as Sagawa Express, Fukuyama Transport, and Seino Transportation have all been affected and apologized to customers for the delay in delivery services.

That night, except for some vehicles still confirming safety, freight train operations had been restarted and transportation was gradually resuming. The exposure of this safety inspection fraud incident has not only dealt a serious blow to the reputation of JR Freight but also aroused high concern in Japanese society about railway transportation safety.