Almost nothing can stop Japan’s bullet train — except an unwelcome passenger of the reptile kind.
Japan’s legendary bullet trains, known for their precision and punctuality, faced an unusual delay when a 40cm snake was found slithering through a passenger carriage.
Not so much the synopsis for Snakes on a Plane, but ‘Snake on a Train’ instead.
On Tuesday evening, the station staff of the Osaka-bound train received an alert from a commuter regarding the snake and the train was immediately taken out of service. Another train was assigned to continue the route, but the delay impacted over 600 passengers: almost unheard of in efficient Japan.
Central Japan Railway Company, which operates the Shinkansen bullet trains, is conducting a review to determine how the snake managed to board the train. A spokesman shared that it was uncertain whether the slithering passenger was venomous, and it is still unclear how it ended up on the train.