Why Japanese Trains Are Never Late – And Never Will Be - video Dailymotion

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Japanese trains are famous for being unbelievably punctual—like, they’re almost never late! 🚄 The secret? It’s all about insane precision and planning. Every train has a strict schedule down to the second, and staff are trained to make sure everything runs like clockwork. 🕒 Even when there’s a delay (which is super rare), they’ll announce it immediately, and it’s usually just by a minute or two. Plus, the railway system is so well-maintained that technical issues are minimal. Honestly, Japan has turned train punctuality into an art form!  Credit: https://zermatt.swiss/en/map maglev levitation train: By 中国新闻社 / YouTube, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C%E9%A6%96%E5%8F%B0%E9%AB%98%E[…]E7%BA%BF%E5%9C%A8%E6%88%90%E9%83%BD%E5%90%AF%E7%94%A8.webm CC BY-SA 1.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0/: CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0: Japanese-National-Railways: By LERK, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7995358 Japanese-national-railways-D52: By LERK, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13188398 Transrapid Shanghai maglev train ride: By 2rue (part 1), BarsMonster (part 2), Ron Meerbeek (part 3), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Transrapid_Shanghai_maglev_train_ride.webm maglev levitation train prototype: By China News Service / YouTube, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C%E9%A6%96%E5%8F%B0%E9%AB%98%E[…]E7%BA%BF%E5%9C%A8%E6%88%90%E9%83%BD%E5%90%AF%E7%94%A8.webm CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0: 27991146904: By billy1125, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66471465 Our Norry: By shankar s. - https://flic.kr/p/nJBw3y, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68232763 Bamboo train: By Joan Vila - https://flic.kr/p/71vLzy, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29595697 CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: VSE-2005-5-4 1: By Araisyohei, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=129477 Daiyuzan Line: By tak1701d, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59243993 Bamboo Train 9: By Isderion, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27355740 bamboo raft: By shankar s. - https://flic.kr/p/nJBR8Z, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68232782 That's our ride: By shankar s. - https://flic.kr/p/nJzjVs, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68232740 re-assembled Norry: By shankar s. - https://flic.kr/p/nJDfpz, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68232753 Tateno Bridge: By Takasunrise0921, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2934094 CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0: Japanese-national-railways-205-T17: By LERK, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=147139617 SC Maglev: By Jerine Victor, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=122684870 Levitation in SC Maglev: By Jerine Victor, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=122684914 Propulsion of Transrapid: By Jerine Victor, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=122684887 TRA PP: By Solomon203, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=116616144 KAI Commuter Pointing: By Desta231206, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=148608395 Bamboo Train Banan 2: By Christophe95, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85905928 Battambang Norry 2016 2: By Io Herodotus, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47565864 Bamboo train Battambang: By Marcel40chaudron, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=110726372 Indische Luxus Zugs: By Maryjjackson, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39753384 CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0: Train drivers: By Jeroen Komen - https://flic.kr/p/heukFr, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37638007 KAI Commuter: By Desta231206, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=145539506 16627456389: By Cheng-en Cheng - https://flic.kr/p/rkj4uz, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78999906 Mayur Mahal: By Simon Pielow - https://flic.kr/p/8jYrKW, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38468874 CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0: CC BY 2.5 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5: Yonago Station05bs4592: By 663highland, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4499273 CC BY-SA 2.5 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5 CC BY-ND 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/: CC BY 2.1 JP https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.1/jp/: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/ Animation is created by Bright Side.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/

Transcript

00:00In 2017, a rail company in Japan issued an official apology for their train departing

00:0620 seconds ahead of schedule.

00:09The passengers hardly noticed that the Tsukuba Express had left the station in eastern Tokyo

00:15at 9.44 and 20 seconds instead of 9.44 and 40 seconds.

00:21But being punctual to the second is so crucial in the country that the company just had to

00:26comment on the incident.

00:28They explained the mistake many internet users found too funny to be true by the fact

00:32that the crew had not sufficiently checked the departure time and performed the departure

00:38operation.

00:40Japanese railroads have a history of over 140 years.

00:45This has given them time to get enough know-how to tune the systems to perfection.

00:50The first ever railroad trip in the country was from Tokyo to Yokohama and transported

00:55the highest elites, including the emperor himself.

00:58The locomotive, train cars, and even the rails had to be brought from the UK.

01:04The trip lasted 53 minutes, almost twice as long as it does now.

01:09There were basically no amenities, not even bathrooms.

01:12Still, it was a success, and the first private Japanese railroad companies started popping

01:17up.

01:18In the early 20th century, after some massive train delays, the authorities took over the

01:23railroad.

01:24The Tokyo Railway Research Office improved the efficiency of engine boilers and came

01:29up with rust-resistant materials and a special type of paint to discourage bees from building

01:34hives that were a problem for train brakes.

01:38Still, the trains were pretty slow.

01:41The journey of 300 miles from Tokyo to Osaka lasted over 7 hours.

01:46The tracks would often go winding, following the course of rivers, and not the shortest

01:50route from point A to point B.

01:53Service disruptions were a common thing.

01:56Meager pay rises for workers led to staged strikes, slowdowns, and walkouts.

02:01The trains were hardly reliable.

02:03That's probably why cars and airplanes were becoming more and more popular.

02:09It all changed thanks to the Summer Olympics of 1964.

02:14Japan had to show the world what a connected and progressive nation they were, and the

02:18existing railroad system didn't send that message.

02:22So the authorities invested a good amount of funds into their high-speed railroad system,

02:27the Shinkansen.

02:29For starters, they had to build new tracks exclusively for the new maglev, that is, magnetic

02:36levitation train.

02:38This means the high-speed trains wouldn't be slowed down by regular ones.

02:42The Shinkansen tracks were continuous welded rails, unlike regular tracks with segments

02:47bolted together.

02:49Stainless tracks meant less friction, which lets trains achieve higher speeds, and the

02:53tracks need less maintenance.

02:57Those super-fast trains run thanks to superconducting magnets.

03:01When you let some electric current flow through it, you've got an extra-strong magnetic field.

03:06But there's a catch.

03:08The more juice it gets, the hotter it becomes.

03:11And efficiency takes a nosedive.

03:15Just like your phone charger getting all toasty, you can blame it on electrical resistance.

03:20So the magnet needs cooling to a chilling negative 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

03:28This creates a strong and constant magnetic field.

03:32They use these superconducting magnets with cooling units along the entire length of the

03:37train.

03:38But that's only half of the magnetic magic.

03:40The other half is hidden within the guideways.

03:43The guideway magnets are shaped like O's and alternate between north and south poles.

03:48They align with the magnets on the train.

03:51When their polarities match, the magnets repel each other.

03:55This generates a forward force that sets the train in motion.

03:59By altering the polarity of the magnets inside the train, we can control the speed.

04:04The more frequently the polarity changes, the faster the train goes.

04:09Today, Japan's largest railway company transports an average of 14 million passengers per day.

04:18The average delay for a high-speed Shinkansen train is around 20 seconds.

04:23And they're still working on reducing this number to zero.

04:27The reason for this isn't just the technical perfection of the trains and tracks, but also

04:32the Japanese mentality.

04:35Conservative rules and the good of the whole society are incredibly important to the local

04:40people.

04:41They respect order and discipline to minimize any uncertainty about their future.

04:46Since Japan is located in a zone where earthquakes are frequent, these two values are literally

04:53lifesavers.

04:55For Japanese railway workers, it's a priority to work well.

04:58Conductors, train drivers, and station staff work as one team and still rely on human interaction

05:05in many ways.

05:07They have a whole system of physical gestures and voice calls they use while on duty.

05:12It's called pointing and calling, and it helps reduce mistakes during work by up to 85%.

05:19So they don't just perform their duties perfectly, but also point at it and announce what they're

05:24doing to avoid any mistakes.

05:27A train driver doing a speed check will point at the display and say,

05:31Speed check, 80.

05:33A station attendant will point down the track and sweep their arm along the platform to

05:38make sure there are no fallen passengers or bags that might get caught hanging from the

05:43train's closed door before departure.

05:47Staff training is quite rigid and brings the best results.

05:51All high-speed train drivers know how to get the train to the station within 5 seconds

05:56of scheduled arrival and stop within 3 feet of the assigned stop location.

06:02When it arrives in Tokyo, the train has only 12 minutes before moving in the opposite direction.

06:08Two minutes are for the passengers to disembark, and three minutes are for the new passengers

06:13to settle in.

06:14So, the cleaning crew only has 7 minutes to do their job.

06:19One person takes care of a car with around 100 seats, and they manage to leave it pristinely

06:25clean.

06:26Teamwork at its best!

06:29If speed isn't your thing, you might enjoy the Glacier Express more than those ultra-fast

06:34Japanese trains.

06:36It's unofficially the slowest express train in the world and covers a distance of 180

06:41miles in 8 hours.

06:44The journey goes through the breathtaking Swiss Alps and across almost 300 bridges.

06:49You will see mountain forests, alpine meadows, mountain brooks and streams, the arches of

06:55a famous viaduct, lakes, glaciers and peaks.

07:01The Cambodian railroads used to have a fun feature.

07:05Passengers had to disassemble and put the train back together.

07:08Bamboo trains named Noris transported around a dozen passengers, livestock and other goods

07:15between small villages.

07:16A Nori consisted of a single queen-sized bed platform and a lawnmower or boat engine that

07:23let it speed up to 25 miles per hour.

07:26When two Noris met on the only line, the lighter one would stop and the drivers and passengers

07:32disassembled it and let the bigger one pass.

07:35Then they put it back together, all in less than a minute.

07:39Now you can only find a Nori as a tourist attraction as Cambodia has moved towards more

07:44effective trains.

07:47If you have around $5,000 to spend on a 4-day cruise around the sights of India, then the

07:52Maharaja's Express Luxury Train is something for you.

07:56This moving palace travels across northwest and central India and goes through most of

08:02the major tourist spots of the country.

08:05It consists of 23 cars, including accommodation, dining, bar, lounge, generator and store cars.

08:14The presidential suite occupies the entire train car, but it's slightly more expensive,

08:19almost three times than the cheapest option.

08:23The most dangerous railroad in Japan and probably the whole world runs along the foothills of

08:28Mount Aso, the biggest active volcano in the country.

08:33You never know when it's going to wake up next, so once you buy a train ticket here,

08:37it could come with a bonus of front row seats for a spectacular natural show.

08:43You can see lava rivers and a steaming volcano top from the comfort of your seat.

08:48A part of the route passes across a high iron bridge, which is narrow and doesn't

08:53have a fence.

08:54It feels like one wrong move and the train will end up in the abyss.

08:58Would you take that risk?

09:00Let me know in the comments below!

09:02That's it for today, so hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like

09:07and share it with your friends.

09:09Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

Why Japanese Trains Are Never Late – And Never Will Be

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