Tokyo, Nov 16 : A freight train derailed in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido on Saturday, disrupting some passenger and commercial railway services, local media reported.

According to the operator JR Freight, the emergency brake was applied while the freight train was travelling between stations in a town near Hakodate, a southern city in the prefecture, and the driver confirmed some cars had derailed, Xinhua news agency reported quoting Kyodo News.

Five of the train's 20 freight cars came off the tracks. The driver was uninjured, the report said.

The freight train had departed from Nagoya in central Japan and was bound for Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido.

Following the incident, local train services were suspended from the morning and express train services between Hakodate and Sapporo were also halted.

/IANS