Shigaraki train disaster

The Shigaraki train disaster (信楽高原鐵道衝突事故, Shigaraki Kōgen Tetsudō shōtotsu jiko) was a railway accident that occurred in Shigaraki (now Koka), Shiga Prefecture, Japan on May 14, 1991. A Shigaraki Kōgen Railway (SKR) train and a West Japan Railway Company (JR West) train collided head-on, killing 42 people and injuring 614 others. Until the Amagasaki derailment in 2005, it was the deadliest railway disaster in Japan since the Tsurumi rail accident of 1963, which killed 161 people.

The Shigaraki Kōgen Railway is a 14.7-kilometer single-track line that runs from Kibukawa to Shigaraki. The unprofitable line was split from JR West shortly after the privatisation of the Japanese National Railways in 1987 and transferred to a third-sector railway company owned and subsided by local governments.

With the holding of the World Ceramic Festival in Shigaraki, planned to run from April 20th to May 26th 1991, plans were made to increase the capacity of the single-track line to accommodate more trains, including direct trains from Osaka and Kyoto, to handle the expected heavy crowds during the festival. A passing loop, Onotani Signal Station (小野谷信号場, Onotani Shingōjō), was added to the line and the signalling system upgraded.

At 10:18 (1:18 UTC) local time on May 14, 1991, a three-car special JR West rapid service train (501D) from Kyoto bound for Shigaraki entered the Shigaraki Line at Kibukawa from the Kusatsu Line, transporting 714 passengers to the World Ceramic Festival that was being held in Shigaraki at the time.

In the opposite direction, a four-car SKR local train (534D) with fifteen people on board, including passengers and crew, was scheduled to depart Shigaraki towards Kibukawa at 10:15. The stationmaster attempted to clear signal 22L, which controlled departure from Shigaraki station, from red to green, but was unable to. A signal technician sent by the manufacturer was also unable to clear the signal. The operations manager instructed the stationmaster to give the departure signal to the train via flag anyway, which was done at 10:24. The staff at Shigaraki should have sent a staff member to Onotani to ensure the line between Shigaraki and Onotani was clear, but failed to do so due to lack of staff.

Onotani Signal Station was the only point on the single-track line where two trains could safely pass, but the JR West train had already gone past that signal station, as it was given a green signal despite the approaching SKR train.

The two trains collided at 10:35 between Onotani Signal Station and Shigarakigūshi station. The SKR driver was killed in the crash, but the JR West driver survived.

The primary causes of the accident was SKR officials allowing the northbound SKR train to pass the red signal at Shigaraki without confirming that the JR West train was stopped at Onotani, and the failed interlocking that allowed the southbound JR West train to advance past Onotani Signal Station. Both SKR and JR West had independently made unauthorized modifications to the signal system, which led to the confusion that prompted the SKR staff to send a train against a red signal, and the faulty wiring that showed the JR West train a green signal, when the approaching SKR train should have turned the signal to red.

SKR suspended passenger service while the Shiga Prefecture and Ministry of Transport conducted investigations, and service did not reopen until December 1991. When service resumed, the use of Onotani Signal Station as a passing point was discontinued. As a result, service frequency was reduced from twice an hour to once an hour, with operation in only one direction at any time.

The two companies were sued for negligence in the Ōtsu District Court in 1993, which found them both guilty in 1999. JR West appealed to the Osaka High Court, but their appeal was rejected in 2002. The cost of the compensation the SKR was required to pay led to Shiga Prefecture and Koka City taking ownership of the line's infrastructure to prevent the railway's bankruptcy.

JR West discontinued through train operations to the Shigaraki Line, while other Japan Railways Group companies similarly discontinued non-regular through train operations to private and third-sector railway lines.

The World Ceramic Festival, which was to continue until May 26, was cancelled the day following the accident.

• Lists of rail accidents

• "42 KILLED IN JAPAN IN TRAIN COLLISION". The New York Times. AP. 15 May 1991. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
• "Head-on Collision on Shigaraki Kogen Railway". Japan Science and Technology Agency Failure Knowledge Database. Retrieved 2026-05-16.
• "Japan Railway & Transport Review No. 33 (pp.26–27) Feature:　Railway Accidents and Safety". Retrieved 16 May 2026.
• 赤信号で走った列車: リポート・信楽高原鉄道事故の真相 (in Japanese). Kyoto Shimbun. 1997-05-14. Archived from the original on 1997-07-11.
• INC, SANKEI DIGITAL (17 May 2021). "姿消すあの日「青」だった信号機 信楽高原鉄道事故３０年". 産経ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 May 2026.
• "平成11(ネ)1954" (PDF) (in Japanese). Osaka High Court. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
• "たび重なる悲運を乗り越えて前へ進もう 運行再開の信楽高原鐵道に期待". ITmedia ビジネスオンライン (in Japanese). 28 November 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
• "Lessons from the Trains Collision Accident at Shigaraki Kohgen Railway" (PDF). 社会安全学研究 (in Japanese). 関西大学　社会安全研究センター. 31 March 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2026.

34°55′14″N 136°05′16″E / 34.9206555556°N 136.087844444°E / 34.9206555556; 136.087844444