JAPANESE TRAINS : MYTH vs REALITY
Everybody knows about the Japanese bullet train or ‘shinkansen,’ with its amazing record for both safety and punctuality. That is not a myth, it really is a superb rail service. You might therefore suppose that the rest of Japan’s extensive train network was equally great, right? Not so, not so…
Twenty years ago the answer would have been yes, but recently local trains have started to be regularly delayed or in some way disrupted. Take the Sanyo mainline, a service spanning western Japan which I use on a daily basis. In recent years pretty much every week there is a delay of some sort, resulting in missed connections and jam-packed carriages - not very pleasant. The train company’s website offers information and explanations about the disruptions in both English and Japanese - and it’s confusing and badly-worded in both languages. This week’s reason for my delayed train was “strange noises heard on the track.” WTF???
Things are even more likely to go off the rails (figuratively, not literally, we hope) if the weather turns even a tiny bit inclement. A few spots of rain or a couple of snowflakes and you can guarantee delays. It really didn’t use to be like this. During the rainy season in early summer or typhoon season a little later on, there is of course the chance of some seriously dangerous weather. Whereas in previous years this might result in some cancellations and delays, it’s common now for the train lines to be completely stopped for the entire day, often in anticipation of bad weather rather than actualities. This has already happened at least twice this year, but it almost never happened ten years ago.
I’m not sure what’s going on here, but someone told me that this ultra cautious approach by the rail companies started after a rare fatal train accident that happened a few years back. For reasons of potential litigation and subsequent financial loss, it has been decided to pay it safe and not take any risks. This is good in some ways, but obviously a major pain in the arse if you need to go somewhere at a certain time.
All in all, while the local trains here are no longer very reliable, they’re still a damn sight better than those in certain other countries (I’m looking at you, Italy and the UK).
If you’re visiting Japan just don’t take it for granted that the local trains will be running on time, particularly if the weather is a bit unsettled, and plan ahead accordingly - check media for transport updates and leave plenty of extra time to make your you can get to your shinkansen and airport connections.