西濃鉄道株式会社

Between December 24 and 25, 2024, a safety audit was conducted on Seino Railway Co., Ltd. in Gifu Prefecture. The audit revealed issues requiring improvement, including failure to take necessary measures despite exceeding maintenance standards in track displacement and gap inspections, and not conducting electrical insulation tests on the automatic coupling devices of DE10 locomotives in 2022. The company was instructed to promptly address these issues, establish proper management systems for railway facilities, and report the corrective actions by April 25, 2025, in accordance with the Railway Technical Standards Enforcement Order.

On October 20, 2021, the company, Seino Railway Co., Ltd., was issued administrative guidance by the Chubu Transport Bureau following safety audits conducted on July 20, 21, 27, 28, August 4, 5, 6, and 17, 2021. The audits found that despite regulations requiring the implementation of staff block signaling for train operations on the Ichibashi Line, the company was not operating trains accordingly. The findings included deficiencies in safety management systems, such as misalignment between actual organizational structures and documented safety management regulations, insufficient staff training, and inadequate safety oversight. The company was also found to have failed to follow legal procedures for railway facility modifications, such as the replacement of switches and sleepers at Otomezaka Station, and did not submit required accident reports despite incidents occurring on February 28, 2018, February 12, 2019, and January 20, 2021. Furthermore, inspections and maintenance of facilities and rolling stock did not comply with the implementation standards. Specific issues included exceeding permissible track displacement limits, irregular inspection intervals, unapproved removal of dedicated communication devices, and inadequate testing of safety equipment. Similar non-compliance was identified in train operations, including deviations from scheduled times, improper conduct of crew checks, failure to issue departure signals, and failure to perform brake tests during train formation changes. The guidance mandated the company to align its safety management system with documented regulations, improve organizational oversight, conduct appropriate staff training, and ensure all inspections and operational procedures adhere strictly to the standards. The company was required to report on the corrective actions taken by November 22, 2021.