AMAGASAKI, Hyogo Prefecture-Police investigating last week's fatal railway disaster suspect that even before the train reached a tight curve on the Takarazuka Line, it was showing serious signs of trouble.
Meanwhile, the death toll reached 107 over the weekend.
Sources said over the weekend that a number of passengers have told police that the train was shaking abnormally on the straight stretch leading to the bend where it derailed and crashed into an apartment building.
Passengers in the first car also said they felt the car tilt after it started shaking.
Police have also questioned 42-year-old conductor Masatoshi Matsushita.
Matsushita told police that he thought it strange that the driver had not applied the brakes even after passing under the Meishin Expressway where trains usually start to slow. He also said the train had been shaking unnaturally before it derailed.
Government and police investigators said that the train's high speed likely caused the first car's right wheels to lift off the tracks as it approached the curve.
Yuko Oshita, 46, who had been in critical condition after her miraculous rescue Tuesday from the wreckage, died Saturday of crush syndrome, a result of trauma to soft tissues due to prolonged severe crushing. Those injured stood at 460.
Sources said the curve where the accident took place became sharper eight years ago when West Japan Railway Co. realigned the tracks to connect with its Tozai Line.
The tracks originally ran in a straight line but were relaid in 1984, creating a curve with a 600-meter radius. In 1997, when the railway operator expanded the line's services, the tracks were shifted west and the curve's radius was halved to 300 meters.
Despite the sharper bend, train drivers were required to pare down travel times between Takarazuka and Amagasaki stations.
In December 2003, JR West services were further revised and Nakayamadera Station in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, was added to the Takarazuka Line's rapid service.
Even with the added stop, however, the schedule for some trains between Takarazuka and Amagasaki stations remained unchanged, the sources said.
A single stop usually adds 50 to 60 seconds to the journey, they added, leaving drivers to make up for the lost time with speed. While the speed limit at the site of the accident is 70 kph, a monitoring device recovered from the derailed train indicated it was traveling at 108 kph.(IHT/Asahi: May 2,2005)