The past week wasn’t great for two train companies.
One was the North-south Line (NSL) operated by SMRT. It had a two-and-a-half hour disruption due to a malfunctioning platform door.
During the evening peak hour.
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It was so news-worthy we wrote about it here despite the fact that we love SMRT.
But that’s not the main point of this article.
It’s about our Japanese counterparts, the West Japan Railway Company (JR West).
What Happened?
On 17 May, Japanese media, Japan Today, reported that West Japan Railways issued an official apology for one of their trains.
It had left the platform earlier than the stated departure time, causing several passengers to be unable to get on the train.
So, it might have left, say what, 25 minutes earlier? No?
The conductor of the train had mistakenly thought the train was supposed to leave at 7:11:35 am and closed the doors of the 12-car train.
Realising his mistake, he surveyed the platform and found no one else wanting to board the train.
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And so, the train left, 25 seconds ahead of the departure time of 7:12:00 am.
Yeah, not 25 minutes but 25 seconds.
There were some passengers hoping to get onto the train, and one of them complained to the station about the early departure.
When West Japan Railways heard about the incident, they immediately apologised for the incident.
“The great inconvenience we placed upon our customers was truly inexcusable.”
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The company promised that they’ll evaluate their conduct and strive to prevent a repeat of such an incident.
It’s not just 25 seconds, It’s something serious
According to Japan Today, this is something worth complaining about as the early departure of 25 seconds will make people late by six minutes.
The next train will reach the end of the line at Nishi Akashi at 9:20 am, 6 minutes after the 7:12 train.
And those who missed a transfer will be even later.
Oh yeah, we’re talking about six minutes.
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P/S: This isn’t the first time it happened either
On 16 Nov last year, another Tokyo train company, Tsukuba Express “sincerely apologise for the inconvenience” caused.
So you’re wondering, what did they do?
According to a BBC report, a train left Minami Nagareyama Station at 9:44:20 local time instead of the scheduled departure time of 9:44:40 local time.
This incident was caused by their staff not checking the timetable and just depart from the station.
In this incident, there were no complaints by customers.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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How come both are train companies but so…
In the meantime, in Singapore…
Now you know what Singaporeans are talking about today; do check back tomorrow for another piece of news of the day!
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