Japan sees another train collision

A train and a car collided in central Japan today, seriously injuring the vehicle’s driver, police said.

The minivan had edged on to the tracks at a rail crossing in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, and hit the privately run Sagami Railway train as it was passing by, a Kanagawa prefecture police spokesman said.

The car’s driver was seriously injured and was taken to a nearby hospital, he said.

None of the 130 passengers on the eight-car train were injured, he said.

The rail crossing’s bars were already down at the time of the collision and the cause of the accident was under investigation.

The Sagami line suspended service after the crash but its trains started running again about an hour later.

The incident comes just two days after a train in western Japan derailed and slammed into an apartment building, killing at least 91 and injuring over 450.

Monday’s accident near the western city of Osaka was Japan’s worst train wreck in four decades.