Japan’s world-renowned railway punctuality was disrupted today by the presence of an unusual stowaway – a snake, Japan’s high-speed rail authority said.
A snake about 40 centimeters long, which is not known to be poisonous, was seen on a train from Nagoya to Tokyo and caused alarm among passengers. The reason for the presence of the snake in the train is unknown.
“It’s hard to imagine a snake getting on a train by itself at a station,” said an unnamed spokesman for the JR Central train company. That company operates a high-speed train line (shinkansen) that connects Tokyo with Osaka via Nagoya.
The spokesman said there was a rule against carrying snakes on the shinkansen, but added that passengers’ luggage was not checked.
The consequence of the discovery of the stowaway, who did not cause panic or any injury, was a train delay of 17 minutes.
Opened in 1964 and later expanded, the Shinkansen network has never experienced an accident resulting in the death or injury of a passenger, Japan Railways said.
High-speed trains reach a maximum speed of 285 kilometers per hour, and over the entire financial year 2022/23, trains were 1.1 minutes late on average. This includes delays caused by natural disasters that are common in Japan.
