Japanese Railway Company Apologises After A Train Left 25 Seconds Earlier Than Scheduled
On time means on time.
By John Lim — 15 May 2018, 06:18 PM
According to the Japanese, being early is not the same as being on time.
On 11 May, a railway company had to issue an official apology after one of its trains left almost half a minute earlier than scheduled. 25 seconds to be exact.
Railway company JR West posted the apology on its website after the 12-car train left Notogawa Station for Nishi-Akashi Station at 7:11:35 am, ahead of its scheduled time of 7:12 am.
The error occurred when the train's conductor misunderstood the departure time and sent out a signal for the train to leave ahead of schedule
However, there were actually a few passengers on the platform whom the conductor failed to notice. One of them lodged a report to JR West.
"The great inconvenience we placed upon our customers was truly inexcusable. We will be thoroughly evaluating our conduct and striving to keep such an incident from occurring again," the apology as translated by SoraNews24 reads.
As a result, those stranded passengers had to wait six minutes for the next train to arrive, which was scheduled to reach Nishi-Akashi at 9:20 am. The delay meant students and workers could've gotten into trouble.
In a country where punctuality is of utmost importance, you can bet being six minutes late is a big deal.