Could be an area that gets very hot and its to cool the railhead?- have seen something similar at a busy junction in Australia.
This article may be an explanation, and interesting of what can be done when snow is regular and very heavy.
http://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/107318
Quote
One of the World’s Heavy Snow Areas
On average, the Maibara-Sekigahara area snows 40 days a year, receiving anywhere between 150-200 centimeters of snow. The 1,182 centimeters recorded on Mount Ibuki in 1927 remains the world record for snowfall.
According to JR Tokai, which operates the Tokaido Shinkansen, a route to avoid the snow was not developed because “construction was rushed so we didn’t have enough time for consideration.”
When regular operation of the Shinkansen started on October 1, 1964, the plan was to remove the snow with a snowplow, the same as is done on the regular commuter lines.
However, the battle with the snow wasn’t that easy. In January of the following year, the snowfall in the Sekigahara area caused various incidents, such as the passenger cars’ glass windows cracking and the underfloor trash containers and water tanks breaking.
Results of an investigation into the cause of the incidents revealed that the high speeds of the Shinkansen would create winds that would lift the snow up from the tracks and apply it underneath the cars and trolleys. The snow would gradually grow into hard balls of ice, and the impact when the balls hit the ground would scatter the gravel on the rails into the air and damage the passenger cars’ glass windows. As a result, the Shinkansen would be forced to travel at low speeds when it snowed. In order to prevent accidents, a sprinkler system was installed that would spray water to keep the snow from billowing.
Currently, there are sprinklers installed along the 68.5-kilometer area of Maibara/Sekigahara. In 2009, the sprinkler nozzles were improved, and the water can now reach where it couldn't before, melting the snow more effectively.
