Repaired Tsubame Bullet Train Car Damaged in 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake Sets Off on Sea Voyage to Hakata

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:00 JST, March 30, 2026

A restored lead train car from the Kyushu Shinkansen Tsubame departed Kumamoto aboard a ship on Sunday to tour the area along the line.

The event is part of a commemorative project marking 15 years since the full opening of the Shinkansen line.

The car, which was damaged in the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes, will tour the coast near the Kyushu Shinkansen line before going on display in front of JR Hakata Station in Fukuoka from April 10.

On April 14, 2016, a bullet train without passengers was derailed and damaged while running near JR Kumamoto Station. The car had since been kept at the Kumamoto general rolling stock depot.

A ceremony for the departure was held at Kumamoto Port, where a barge carrying the lead car left the harbor to the sound of about 1,000 spectators shouting, “All aboard.”