Subway Line Direct to Expo Halted — Stranded Visitors Spend the Night at the Venue From last night through this morning, this news has been all over the media. Of all times, just as the Expo was winding down for the day, the Osaka Metro Chūō Line suffered a major service suspension. As a result, many visitors were unable to get home, with quite a few forced to spend the night at the venue. As it happens, my wife and daughter were actually at the Expo yesterday and got caught up in this trouble themselves.
Since I had a normal workday — and frankly neither the stamina nor the will to brave the extreme heat and massive crowds of the Expo — I declined my family’s invitation and stayed home. From there, I received some cheerful photos via LINE from them, but… When I got home and stepped out of the bath, a LINE call came in from my wife.
Apparently, the subway had stopped, the place was swarming with people, and information was scarce. The internet connection was patchy, and to make matters worse, she’d been separated from our daughter. She asked me to check the situation for them. The problem was, I have no local knowledge of the Osaka area, let alone the surroundings of the Expo. For the time being, I tried asking ChatGPT…only to get a suggestion like “Take the Osaka Monorail,” which, in hindsight, turned out to be pretty far off. Perhaps my question wasn’t worded well, but still… So, I resorted to gathering information bit by bit from official websites and social media. Fortunately, my daughter was able to reunite with my wife soon after.
It looked like the Expo app had sent out an email, but its content (photo center) was extremely brief. On X (Twitter), people were reporting announcements telling visitors to “return to the venue.” Considering no one knew when trains would start moving again, I figured it would be better to wait indoors rather than outside. Still, my wife and daughter seemed to be waiting near the gates. By that time, it was already 11 p.m.
What frustrated me most was that Osaka Metro’s official website wasn’t updating at all. On X, there were posts claiming both the New Tram and subway would run all night, but this information never appeared on the official site. No forecast was given for when service would resume on the key Yume-shima–Cosmo Square section.
It seemed time to decide whether to take a detour home or spend the night at the Expo. When I checked in with my family again, they were already on the move.
The trains were apparently packed, but they managed to make a wide detour and somehow get back to their hotel in Namba. They arrived at 2:30 a.m.
I’m grateful to Osaka Metro and the New Tram for running through the night, but I do wish the announcements had been clearer. It also sounds like some pavilions stayed open and offered drinks to those stuck inside, but we never caught wind of that. I’m sure the on-site staff worked hard in many areas, but I would have liked to see stronger overall coordination. As for my wife and daughter, they’re spending today sightseeing in Osaka and will return home tonight. Once they’re back, I’ll update this story.