- Kyle Chua
Japan Driver Delays Train After Forgetting Password to Tablet That Tracked the Line’s Schedule
There's nothing more important to Japanese commuters than punctuality, which is likely why train delays are considered unusual in the country.
Sometimes, however, there are certain occurrences that can disrupt a train line's schedule, such as, say, a technical error or an unexpected accident. No one probably ever thought that a driver forgetting the password of his tablet to be the cause of a major delay. But that's apparently what recently happened in a JR-operated train in Fukushima, Japan, according to SoraNews24.
JR East issued drivers with tablets in June that would allow them to track the arrival and departure times of trains in real-time. The driver in question reportedly didn't realise he forgot his password until about three minutes into his route, when he decided to check the schedule and couldn't unlock his tablet. His attempts to unlock it all failed, so he was forced to check the timetable of the line at different stops. He did this until he reached his final destination, adding a total of 23 minutes to the travel time of over 60 passengers.
The incident occurred on 20 August, between 6:15pm to 6:40pm. If there's any consolation for the driver, it's that the delay happened on a Saturday, when there were relatively fewer passengers onboard. His counterpart in a neighbouring line seemingly fared worse in an earlier incident on 8 July, similarly forgetting the password of his tablet and delaying no less than 120 passengers by up to 22 minutes. This driver supposedly waited at a station until someone could give him a paper copy of the timetable.
The operator will likely have to issue an apology for the disruptions, considering how Japanese people don't tolerate delays. For them, every minute, if not second, counts. The Tsukuba Express line between Tokyo and the city of Tsukuba had to apologise to the public in 2017 for departing 20 seconds early – not minutes but seconds.
A JR Fukushima representative also said the company will be providing drivers with more guidance about how they can remember their passwords. A good suggestion would be to simply disable the lock setting of the tablet if it doesn't contain any other confidential information.
A JR-operated train in Fukushima, Japan was recently delayed by up to 23 minutes after the driver forgot the password to his tablet that tracked the line's schedule.
His attempts to unlock the tablet all failed, so he was forced to check the timetable of the line at different stops. adding to the travel time of over 60 passengers.
A JR Fukushima representative said the company will be providing drivers more guidance about how they can remember their passwords.