On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck, causing severe damage to railways along the Pacific coast. Sanriku Railway in Iwate Prefecture resumed partial service just 5 days after the quake. JR East's Kesennuma Line and part of the Ofunato Line were replaced by BRT (Bus Rapid Transit), and the Joban Line (which runs through Yamamoto in Miyagi Prefecture) relocated its stations and tracks as the town moved inland. See the efforts on how Tohoku's rail network has been fully restored.

Tobu Railway operates 12 routes in the greater Tokyo area and runs a tourist train pulled by SL Taiju steam locomotives in Tochigi Prefecture. Until now, Tobu Railway ran 2 steam locomotives, however, to enhance the operation of the popular train, the company decided to restore a museum condition steam locomotive from Hokkaido Prefecture. The restoration was expected to take 2 years, but the body was more damaged than they had anticipated. Half of the parts, including the boiler, needed to be rebuilt, which in total took 3 years. See all the work that was done for the first time in 47 years to restore the old iron horse.