1.
reduced service; thinning out scheduled runs (trains, buses)
The practice of operating fewer trains or buses than usual on a given line, either due to disruption (bad weather, accidents, equipment trouble) or due to planned reductions in service (lower demand, staff shortages).
台風のため間引き運転を実施している。
We are operating reduced service because of the typhoon.
電車が間引き運転になっているので注意してください。
Please note that the trains are running on a reduced schedule.
大雪の影響で、朝の通勤時間帯に間引き運転が行われた。
Due to the heavy snow, reduced service was in effect during the morning commute.
運転士不足のため、一部の路線で間引き運転が続いている。
Due to a shortage of drivers, reduced service continues on some lines.
Composed of 間引き (thinning out) + 運転 (operation, running). The verb 間引く originally refers to thinning out seedlings in a garden — removing some so that the rest have room to grow — and is used metaphorically to describe removing scheduled runs from a transit timetable.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 間引き運転を実施する: to implement reduced service
- 間引き運転を行う: to operate on a reduced schedule
- 間引き運転になる: to go on a reduced schedule
- 間引き運転が続く: reduced service continues
- 一部区間で間引き運転: reduced service on a partial section of the line
RELATED TERMS:
- 運休: service suspension — more extreme; no runs at all
- 遅延: delay — trains still run but behind schedule
- 折返し運転: shuttle operation — trains turn back partway due to a blocked section
- 徐行運転: slow operation — trains run at reduced speed
- 平常運転: normal operation — the baseline
USAGE:
間引き運転 is one of several standard railway terms heard in Japanese station announcements and news reports during service disruptions. Passengers expect longer waits between trains on the affected line.