The Trains are NEVER Late…..Almost

Japanese trains are almost ALWAYS on time….like 99.9% of the time on time…maybe higher.

I know of only two cases when the trains might be delayed.

1. Suicide….somebody jumps in front of a train.

2. Severe weather…earthquakes. And in the case of the Tohoku region, snow. 

I was surprised to read that train service was suspended on the JR Utsunomiya Line because a wire snapped….and during the morning rush hour at that.

A joint had melted causing the wire to snap at about 7:55am. Services were out till around noon.

Thousands of passengers were stranded on six trains for up to four hours.

With no A/C, some passengers even gell ill.

Japan's public transportation, especially the train service, is so wide-spread, runs so often, with so many people using it,

that it would take more than a four hour meltdown on one line for there to be any impact on the national average of efficiency.

Now, instead of 99.99997% of the time on time…maybe it will be 99.99996%.

Have you ever been late to someplace in Japan because the trains were delayed?