A powerful earthquake that struck the Tokyo area Thursday night, the strongest the Japanese capital has experienced in a decade, left 32 people injured, many late-night train passengers stranded and caused commuter disruption the following morning, authorities said.

East Japan Railway Co., also known as JR East, resumed train services Friday morning but many passengers were forced to wait at stations due to delays. At JR Kawaguchi Station in Saitama Prefecture, the railroad operator imposed entrance restrictions to avoid congestion.

The operation of the Nippori Toneri Liner, a driverless guideway transit system in Tokyo, remained suspended Friday morning after a train derailed the previous night due to the temblor. The Tokyo metropolitan government's transportation bureau said it could take several days until services on the line resume.

Among the 32 people hurt, two in Saitama Prefecture and one in Chiba Prefecture sustained severe injuries, according to a tally by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

Three passengers on the Nippori Toneri Liner fell and were injured after three cars derailed.

The magnitude-5.9 earthquake, which struck the capital region at 10:41 p.m. Thursday, logged upper 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in parts of Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture.

It was the first time people in central Tokyo have experienced such an intense shake since the massive quake of March 11, 2011, which devastated northeastern Japan and triggered a tsunami and nuclear disaster.

One 28-year-old from Saitama Prefecture who was forced to stay overnight at Yokohama Station when trains were canceled said wearily on Friday morning, "I have to go to work now without having gone home."

At JR Chiba Station, trains heading to Tokyo were delayed significantly Friday morning causing a male commuter in his 50s to give up.

"I will just switch to telework (today)," he said as he walked out of the station.

==Kyodo

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