Express train in Japan kills 4 track workers near Tokyo station
What's new: Police are probing whether lookout and warning procedures were followed on the Tobu Nikko Line.
An express train struck and killed four maintenance workers at Shin-Kanuma Station in Tochigi Prefecture on Thursday morning, halting service on the Tobu Nikko Line north of Tokyo. Broadcasters and local media reported the men, all in their 50s and 60s, were clearing weeds or spraying herbicide on the tracks when the Tokyo-bound train hit them at about 10:45 a.m. None of the roughly 50 passengers were hurt. Tobu Railway said a work crew was at the site with a supervisor and lookouts, and police are investigating whether safety rules were properly followed. Fatal rail accidents are rare in Japan, where railway safety standards are among the world's strongest.