Friday, May 19, 2006
Shinkansen.....
.... A.K.A. The Bullet Train. It is possible to fly between major cities in Japan but I don’t really know why you’d want to in most cases. For those of you in the UK just forget most things you know about trains unless you’ve been on Eurostar or TGV, in which case it’s similar but with much more legroom!). Before I go on I must point out that neither of us are ‘Train Spotters’, but travelling here leads to the kind of enthusiasm that might give that impression!!Japanese stations would be considered ripe for ‘downsizing’ by Western management, everywhere you look there are immaculately dressed (right down to the white gloves!) staff to help you on your way. Most ticket gates are automated but you’ll still find 2 or 3 people on hand to help (This isn’t Hayes & Harlington, your chances of fare dodging here are next to nil; yes that means YOU Philip!).
Once on the platform it’s like you are watching a computer game or a model railway. On the line that runs west from Tokyo there are something like 12 Shinkansen services an hour, this means that at peak times you could be at a station 300km from Tokyo (as we were) and there would be three trains within 10 minutes that would all take you there. You need to be on time though, because the train definitely will be and it won’t muck around waiting for you. (If you’re interested the official statistics for 2003 show that the average Shinkansen delay on this line was 0.1 minutes, that's er, 6 seconds)
To help make sure this all goes smoothly the platforms all have markers on the floor telling you precisely where to stand and queue for, say, carriage 8. When it turns up the door will be directly in front of the start of the queue. The painted queue marker allows space for the disembarking passengers, and then you have about 60 seconds to file aboard before the doors close and the (white gloved) station attendant waves the train away. If you are at the front of the queue you’ll just about have time to put your bag on the rack and sit down before you feel movement.
Then after a while the ticket inspector will pass through the train (white gloves again). As he enters and leaves each carriage he bows. If you’re getting on at the first station on the line he also gives a little speech, which we assume goes something like “Good morning ladies and gentlemen my name is Bob and I’ll be your conductor today. Please do not hesitate to ask if I can be of any assistance. Thank You for choosing Japan Railways for your trip today”. On the other hand he might be saying “I will shortly be checking your tickets, if you do not have one please throw yourself from the train now to avoid embarrassment”. Either way, they’re very polite about it!
Then the refreshments trolley arrives (which occasionally has it’s own little musical theme tune). Again there is bowing at the carriage door (although the gloves may be plastic food handling versions this time). And then after a while longer of sitting in great comfort, your 90 minute journey has ended before you realise it (as indeed it has as I type this note!), at which point you once again need to be ready, as you’ll only have about 30 seconds to make it to the door before the next passengers start boarding.
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