Tourism Smoking banned on Tokaido, Sanyo, Kyushu Shinkansen

The smoking rooms will be repurposed to carry emergency drinking water for passengers in case the trains have to stop for a long time between stations. In addition, West Japan Railway will abolish all smoking areas without walls at Sanyo Shinkansen Line stations. Smoking on Shinkansen trains has already been banned by both the other Shinkansen operators—East Japan Railway Co. and Hokkaido Railway Co. "If we are forced to stop the train for an extended period of time at a place other than a station, we will be able to distribute water to passengers more quickly," JR Central and JR West said in their statements. In addition, JR West announced plans to eliminate smoking areas that are not separated by walls at eight stations along the Sanyo Shinkansen line, including Shin-Kurashiki Station in Okayama Prefecture and Higashi-Hiroshima Station in Hiroshima Prefecture.

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