You've heard of snakes on a plane, but how about snakes on a train? Yes, I just said that. According to reports, a snake inside a passenger carriage of one of the famously punctual Japanese bullet trains caused a delay this week.
CNN reports that the incident occurred on Tuesday when staff at a Tokyo train station found a 16-inch snake inside the carriage after the Central Japan Railway Company train arrived from Nagoya.
Although none of the 600 passengers on board were injured, the train did run roughly 17 minutes late, which is significant for the country's railway standards.
Ken Bolido, the host of the YouTube show This Is, explained that the reason Japanese bullet trains are so punctual is partly due to Japanese culture and demand.
With a population of more than 125 million people and roughly half of them living outside of two cities, people in Japan rely heavily on public transportation, especially because the commutes get longer as the populations expand outside of the cities.
By the numbers, Japanese bullet trains service some 16 million passengers a day, or 6 billion people per year, and they can travel at speeds up to 200 mph.
Explaining the efficiency, Bolido said that the Japanese transit industry operates much like the American airline industry in that they compete for business by offering the best products and services.
