Forum - View topicAnswerman - How Does The Train System Work In Japan?
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kemuri-_9
Posts: 3 Location: Tokyo, Japan |
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There are about 175 stations in the Tokyo Metro system alone. Comparatively there are only 5 standard fare prices, so it's much simpler (from a user interface perspective) to tap a price than to tap a destination within these circumstances. This is a bit inconvenient for foreigners having to lookup the price, but this methodology is more convenient for the natives who use the train more regularly. If you want to be lazy about it, you can often buy the lowest fare and then use the ticket fare correction machine at your destination, though this method has issues when it comes to out-of-gate line transfers. Though, a number of navi programs nowadays (including google maps) will display the route fare price with the directions, so often there isn't a need for a separate lookup for the price. |
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Joe Mello
 Posts: 2267 Location: Online Terminal |
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Most Japanese train cars I've been on have some sort of visual display (often in multiple locations in the car) that will show you what stop is next. Also, once rush hour hits or there's an accident, reliability goes out the window. I've had trains just not show up during one bad evening on JR. |
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peno
Posts: 349 |
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Since I am from a country where announcing in trains (and busses, for that matter) is still pretty rare, I can concur that. New trains have both announcement and screens which show next stop, direction and terminus, as well as additional info if needed (like tarif zones, for example). In most cases, these announcements are automated, meaning they are not done by conductor or driver, but instead are pre-recorded and played automatically after the train is leaving a stop or approaching next one (probably done by GPS localisation). That, however, does not mean you will actually hear and/or understand the announcement. I have "lucky" to travel by new trains bought only during the end of last year and beginning of this year, but the announcement is so low, that it sometimes feel like there's no announcement at all. I already complaint about that, but to no avail so far. And sometimes, the LCD monitors doesn't work either, so you are like in old times. However, most of the trains in my country are so old, that they don't even have speakers, so there's simply no way to announce stops. In these cases, you simply have to watch where you are and if you are unfamiliar with the track, all you have to hope is, that there will be a willing local who will tell you where to leave the train. Plus, there are some oddities where you have one modern car in the whole train who has both announcement and monitor, but the rest of the train has nothing. I really envy Japanese to have announcement and monitors in every train. |
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Wrial Huden
 Posts: 149 Location: McKinney, TX |
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A new plan is in the works in Texas to have a high-speed rail between Dallas and Houston. This one could possibly work. |
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