Did you know that the Japanese Shinkansen train was late for a total of 0.6 seconds in 2010?

connectedtravelling:

In 2004, due to typhoons, the Shinkansen total annual delays were 42 seconds. It was a disgrace to Japan. (source)

If a train were to be late for 5 minutes, everyone receives a free journey and an apology from the conductor. If a train is delayed 10 minutes, it would be in the newspaper.

So to say train delays are serious business would be an understatement. And last week, knowing what I knew about trains and average delays, I began snapping the following photos, unfolding in time, to mark the first major delay of a Japanese Shinkansen in 2011.

I wish I could’ve said the same thing about German trains but I can’t. The first six months I was here I traveled every weekend and I’m not overstating when I say that at least 60% of those trips had a delay, and it usually ranged from 15min to 90min. Maybe there was something wrong with that particular route. Anyway, my last train ride in Germany (at least for now) will be in one month, when I’ll take the train from Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof to Frankfurt Flughafen (Airport).

(via parislemon)