The death toll in the Japanese train crash has risen to 90 – with 450 injured – amid reports that drivers “live in fear of being just a minute late”.
As reported, the train crashed into an apartment block in the town of Amagasaki, about 250 miles west of Tokyo, on Monday.
While there have been some suggestions that the disaster could have been caused by stones on the track, a data recorder has reportedly shown that the train was travelling much too fast when it left the track on a sharp curve – and, according to the BBC, investigations have shown that the driver was trying to make up lost time after over-running at a previous station.
Today’s edition of The Times reports that the driver would have been subject to a system of penalties for running late, which had allegedly driven another driver to suicide.
Ryujiro Takami, the 23-year-old driver, is reported to have been severely reprimanded last year – and sent for a harsh, 13-day “re-education programme” – after overshooting another station.
And, the newspaper reports, another driver hanged himself in 2001 after being penalised for departing from Kyoto station 50 seconds behind schedule.
Rescuers have not yet managed to reach Takami through the wreckage but it is generally assumed that he is dead. Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd
