F-0053 The control center duty log from the night the switch would not return to normal

(Said to be a copy of the night-duty log from Hayase Railway’s control center. It has been excerpted centering on lines concerning Unumadai and the far end of track 3, and the notation — including a redacted, unrelated section name — is kept as in the original. The names in the entry column have been omitted at the copying stage.)

2021.08.19
An investigative contact called to confirm something. A resident near Unumadai had reported that someone might have gotten into the powered section (because of a sound heard at night). They checked whether any entry or work was scheduled there. Apparently this makes some number of such calls so far this year. Part of what the caller reportedly said, as relayed to us: “It sounded like a train going by, so I figured someone must have gotten in there… but nothing’s run on that line in years, right?” Replied that the section is decommissioned and nothing is scheduled. Next shift should also be aware of this.

2021.08.25
Routine inspection, signal spare-parts replacement in section △△. Nothing to note.

2021.09.30
Another similar confirmation call came in from the investigative side. This time it was reported because a light had been seen — possible trespasser. Details weren’t fully passed along, just the gist: “something lit up around the platform.” Replied the same as before, nothing scheduled.

2021.11.03
Around 23:00, occupancy detection (the mechanism by which a track circuit senses a train’s presence) triggered at the far end of track 3, cleared within seconds. Logged as a known false-detection pattern. Nothing else to note.

2021.12.20
Same occupancy detection at the far end of track 3, recurring. About seven weeks since the last one. The frequency isn’t unusual, but noting for the record that it’s the same spot each time.

2022.01.14
Far end of track 3: the position indicator for switch No. 38 shows reverse. This switch has had no recorded use since decommissioning and should be locked in normal position, but the display shows reverse. No record of a dispatch command to throw it. Confirmed it reverted within a few minutes; logging only.

2022.01.29
Switch No. 38 at the far end of track 3, in reverse again. Same direction as before. Duration was somewhat longer than last time, though. Given the same location and direction recurring, this isn’t just a one-off display error — next shift should keep an eye on it too.

2022.02.18
Alongside occupancy detection at the far end of track 3, the train-number field showed “412.” Doesn’t match the current timetable. Cleared within seconds. Treated as a display malfunction, but noting it just in case.

2022.02.24
Another confirmation call from the investigative side. This time it concerned a report of a possible trespasser — a human shape. Part of what was reported, as relayed: “This time, something like the shape of a person appeared for just a moment near the station. It vanished right away, so I think I must have misseen it.” Given the number of these, asked that any future report include the date and time where possible.

2022.03.02
Curious about it, ran a system lookup on the train number — nothing came up. Checked the archive of old timetables just in case, and found that “412” was the number of the last service that ran before this section was decommissioned. Not clear why a number from that long ago would show up on the display now.

2022.04.06
Cross-referenced the locations of everything so far (occupancy detection, the switch, the train number) — all cluster around the far end of track 3, near the old signal cabin. This roughly matches the sighting locations from the investigative side’s confirmations as well. One exception: a single occupancy detection at a separate spot (out past the siding), which I haven’t included in this tally.
Also confirmed that the completion sign-off for the power shutdown work at this section, from when the line was decommissioned, was never formally submitted, and the matter had simply been left sitting for a long time. Escalating this for priority investigation. This will be my last entry before I leave this post. Leaving the rest to whoever takes over.

(The hand changes here)

2022.05.09
I’ve read through the previous entries as part of the handover. Honestly, at first I thought they were exaggerating. As for the escalation — got word that it’s being considered favorably, though no details yet.

2022.06.13
Heard that the on-site inspection by the contractor (drone-based) may have started. Nothing official has come through to us yet. Continuing to monitor.

2022.06.25
Around 23:00, occupancy detection. Cleared within seconds. Same spot as in the previous entries — the far end of track 3. So far it matches what’s in the record; it doesn’t feel quite real yet, honestly.

2022.07.02
Far end of track 3, switch No. 38, reverse. Same direction noted in the previous entries. It feels a little different from when I was just following the numbers.

2022.07.09
From around 23:00, occupancy detection, the switch, and the train number all triggered together at the far end of track 3. First time all three have come at once.
23:14 Sent a remote command to return switch No. 38 to normal. It goes back to normal once.
23:19 Within about five minutes, reverse again.
23:22 Sent the return-to-normal command again. Same as before, it goes back once, but
23:27 checked and it was back in reverse. So both attempts followed the same course. Honestly, checking it the second time wasn’t a pleasant feeling.
Later that night, word came through from the contractor that they’d lost contact with the unit during today’s inspection. Checked it against our own record — at least the date lines up.

2022.07.10
Word came down that the drone-based on-site inspection is being suspended for now. Going forward, monitoring at the far end of track 3 will be limited to occupancy detection only, and other entries will be held back for the time being.