All Tokyo trains in real time.
October 15, 2013 7:58 AM Subscribe
They don't seem to spend a very long time in each station, though.
No, they don't. Japan-tourism protip: If your train schedule says "4:43", and you're at the platform at 4:39 staring at a train, do not get on that train. That is not your train, your train will be along in four minutes.
posted by mhoye at 8:16 AM on October 15, 2013 [18 favorites]
No, they don't. Japan-tourism protip: If your train schedule says "4:43", and you're at the platform at 4:39 staring at a train, do not get on that train. That is not your train, your train will be along in four minutes.
posted by mhoye at 8:16 AM on October 15, 2013 [18 favorites]
I love this so much, even though I don't know anything about the local geography. I did find Shibuya, since it is familiar from one of my favoritest video games. Mostly, though: Eee! Trains!
posted by asperity at 8:17 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by asperity at 8:17 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Needs more Godzilla.
(But seriously, very cool.)
posted by Gelatin at 8:18 AM on October 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
(But seriously, very cool.)
posted by Gelatin at 8:18 AM on October 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
I love this so much, even though I don't know anything about the local geography. I did find Shibuya,
This map could kinda sort help.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:31 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
This map could kinda sort help.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:31 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
This is nothing. Wait til you get to the third level and the tanuki shinkansen shows up. Protip: deploy every single catbus you have AND YES THEY WILL OCCASIONALLY SNEAK AWAY TO HOSPITALS SO KEEP AN EYE OUT
posted by Foci for Analysis at 8:44 AM on October 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Foci for Analysis at 8:44 AM on October 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
If you go West a little bit you'll hit Shinjuku Station, the busiest in the world
If your train schedule says "4:43", and you're at the platform at 4:39 staring at a train, do not get on that train. That is not your train, your train will be along in four minutes.
If it says 4:43 they mean, 4:43 - not 4:42 or 4:44 (unless there's a very exceptional circumstance)
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 8:48 AM on October 15, 2013
If your train schedule says "4:43", and you're at the platform at 4:39 staring at a train, do not get on that train. That is not your train, your train will be along in four minutes.
If it says 4:43 they mean, 4:43 - not 4:42 or 4:44 (unless there's a very exceptional circumstance)
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 8:48 AM on October 15, 2013
I understand the 'record' for departures from a single platform is 24 per hour - see this schedule for the Yamanote line 'clockwise' at Tokyo Station.
posted by woodblock100 at 8:52 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by woodblock100 at 8:52 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
It looks like this is showing the scheduled position of each train and not the actual tracked position, since you can use the dropdown menu to change the clock to any hour of the day. And it's 1 am there now so there's not much to see on the "current time" setting (thanks, Google Translate).
posted by theodolite at 8:56 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by theodolite at 8:56 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
It looks like this is showing the scheduled position of each train and not the actual tracked position
I actually just gasped with shocked betrayal.
posted by elizardbits at 9:00 AM on October 15, 2013 [4 favorites]
I actually just gasped with shocked betrayal.
posted by elizardbits at 9:00 AM on October 15, 2013 [4 favorites]
It looks like this is showing the scheduled position of each train and not the actual tracked position
You say this like they aren't the same thing 99.99% of the time.
posted by JPD at 9:03 AM on October 15, 2013 [5 favorites]
You say this like they aren't the same thing 99.99% of the time.
posted by JPD at 9:03 AM on October 15, 2013 [5 favorites]
I understand the 'record' for departures from a single platform is 24 per hour - see this schedule for the Yamanote line 'clockwise' at Tokyo Station.
Pfff. 24 is amateur hour.
Off the top of my head the Victoria Line on the London Underground now does 33 trains per hour in the peaks. Jubilee does about 30tph as well.
Both would actually do more, but the problem is that once you pass 30tph the issue stops being how quickly you can get people on/off trains, and starts being how quickly you can get people and and off the platforms.
Even if your station is really nicely designed with clear walkways and suchlike, you still have to deal with what is affectionately known (in London at least) as the "Spanish exchange student problem" - i.e. that human beings (at least those who don't commute regularly) don't tend to quickly parse and follow the simplest path to an exit. They tend to do stupid things like stop moving immediately after getting off the train, or all clump and wait on the platform for their classmates/friends before moving on. That's before you get to the issue of people with genuine mobility problems.
Basically watching the passenger flow modelling software for Metro systems is like watching a really buggy version one of those Zombie infection simulators.
(In fact if I remember correctly we've actually got a MeFite who does those simulations, although I can't remember his name!)
posted by garius at 9:10 AM on October 15, 2013 [7 favorites]
Pfff. 24 is amateur hour.
Off the top of my head the Victoria Line on the London Underground now does 33 trains per hour in the peaks. Jubilee does about 30tph as well.
Both would actually do more, but the problem is that once you pass 30tph the issue stops being how quickly you can get people on/off trains, and starts being how quickly you can get people and and off the platforms.
Even if your station is really nicely designed with clear walkways and suchlike, you still have to deal with what is affectionately known (in London at least) as the "Spanish exchange student problem" - i.e. that human beings (at least those who don't commute regularly) don't tend to quickly parse and follow the simplest path to an exit. They tend to do stupid things like stop moving immediately after getting off the train, or all clump and wait on the platform for their classmates/friends before moving on. That's before you get to the issue of people with genuine mobility problems.
Basically watching the passenger flow modelling software for Metro systems is like watching a really buggy version one of those Zombie infection simulators.
(In fact if I remember correctly we've actually got a MeFite who does those simulations, although I can't remember his name!)
posted by garius at 9:10 AM on October 15, 2013 [7 favorites]
You say this like they aren't the same thing 99.99% of the time. This.
Amtrak status maps
posted by maggieb at 9:11 AM on October 15, 2013
Amtrak status maps
posted by maggieb at 9:11 AM on October 15, 2013
You say this like they aren't the same thing 99.99% of the time.
Of course, but it's still more of a simulation than something like marinetraffic.com or flightaware.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, you can track the actual live locations of every train, but on the other hand we have people crashing into mystery ghost trains that nobody can explain what they're doing there.
posted by theodolite at 9:16 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Of course, but it's still more of a simulation than something like marinetraffic.com or flightaware.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, you can track the actual live locations of every train, but on the other hand we have people crashing into mystery ghost trains that nobody can explain what they're doing there.
posted by theodolite at 9:16 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Also I wish you could zoom out and behold the vast and interlocking creation of Man in its terrifying entirety
posted by theodolite at 9:24 AM on October 15, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by theodolite at 9:24 AM on October 15, 2013 [4 favorites]
Relevant: Ask Metafilter: How many things can be tracked over the internet?
posted by ardgedee at 9:26 AM on October 15, 2013
posted by ardgedee at 9:26 AM on October 15, 2013
I lived in Hitachi in Ibaraki Prefecture for a time in the mid-90's. It's on the Joban Line which had the affectionate nickname back then as the "Jodan Sen" or the "joke line" because trains were late so often.
Generally speaking, trains in Japan run on time, especially in a place like Tokyo, where one late train can play havoc with the intricate scheduling.
The laissez faire, "whatever" and "whoops, sorry 'bout that" attitude of North America can be hard to get used to at times.
posted by KokuRyu at 9:41 AM on October 15, 2013
Generally speaking, trains in Japan run on time, especially in a place like Tokyo, where one late train can play havoc with the intricate scheduling.
The laissez faire, "whatever" and "whoops, sorry 'bout that" attitude of North America can be hard to get used to at times.
posted by KokuRyu at 9:41 AM on October 15, 2013
The translator in Chrome is like, "Ike...Ikebu...Ikebukur HOLD STILL DAMMIT"
posted by orme at 9:54 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by orme at 9:54 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
You say this like they aren't the same thing 99.99% of the time
Today however will be one of the exceptions, as at least some train lines are closing because of Typhoon Wipha.
posted by wildcrdj at 9:57 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Today however will be one of the exceptions, as at least some train lines are closing because of Typhoon Wipha.
posted by wildcrdj at 9:57 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
It's Typhoon #26, dammit!
posted by KokuRyu at 10:06 AM on October 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by KokuRyu at 10:06 AM on October 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
The laissez faire, "whatever" and "whoops, sorry 'bout that" attitude of North America can be hard to get used to at times.
Yeah. The last time I was in Japan, the fact that transportation -- not just trains, but buses and boats -- is on time had this magical effect that I'd never had before:
I stopped worrying about not being on time.
Which never happens in NYC. Or almost anywhere else; you're always continually wondering whether or not you'll get there in 30 minutes, or 35 minutes, or 50 minutes, etc. But not in Japan, because I had utter trust in the reliability of the system.
Example: I was leaving a friend's place in Kitakyushu and heading to Fukuoka to take the boat ferry to Korea. We were leaving this spa, which was on top of a mountain. My journey was, essentially, village bus from spa -> train station; high speed train from Kitakyushu -> Fukoka; walk from train station -> ferry terminal; take a boat from Fukuoka -> Busan.
Because the boats and trains weren't that regularly spaced out that day, if I missed that bus, I would have to take the next train; if I missed the train, I would have to take the next boat the next day, which would mean I'd have to sleep somewhere, which would mean I'd miss seeing a friend in Busan, etc.
But of course: the bus station, train station, and boat station had timetables that were accurate, down to the exact minute. And so I was able to casually line up my itinerary, step on that first bus, and then totally chill out and not worry at all about being on time. All the way to the boat, I was absolutely and totally relaxed about time.
posted by suedehead at 10:12 AM on October 15, 2013 [5 favorites]
Yeah. The last time I was in Japan, the fact that transportation -- not just trains, but buses and boats -- is on time had this magical effect that I'd never had before:
I stopped worrying about not being on time.
Which never happens in NYC. Or almost anywhere else; you're always continually wondering whether or not you'll get there in 30 minutes, or 35 minutes, or 50 minutes, etc. But not in Japan, because I had utter trust in the reliability of the system.
Example: I was leaving a friend's place in Kitakyushu and heading to Fukuoka to take the boat ferry to Korea. We were leaving this spa, which was on top of a mountain. My journey was, essentially, village bus from spa -> train station; high speed train from Kitakyushu -> Fukoka; walk from train station -> ferry terminal; take a boat from Fukuoka -> Busan.
Because the boats and trains weren't that regularly spaced out that day, if I missed that bus, I would have to take the next train; if I missed the train, I would have to take the next boat the next day, which would mean I'd have to sleep somewhere, which would mean I'd miss seeing a friend in Busan, etc.
But of course: the bus station, train station, and boat station had timetables that were accurate, down to the exact minute. And so I was able to casually line up my itinerary, step on that first bus, and then totally chill out and not worry at all about being on time. All the way to the boat, I was absolutely and totally relaxed about time.
posted by suedehead at 10:12 AM on October 15, 2013 [5 favorites]
Those are Buddhist temples or shrines. The symbol itself translates as "well being" or "luck".
posted by notyou at 10:29 AM on October 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by notyou at 10:29 AM on October 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
Even if your station is really nicely designed with clear walkways and suchlike, you still have to deal with what is affectionately known (in London at least) as the "Spanish exchange student problem" - i.e. that human beings (at least those who don't commute regularly) don't tend to quickly parse and follow the simplest path to an exit. They tend to do stupid things like stop moving immediately after getting off the train, or all clump and wait on the platform for their classmates/friends before moving on. That's before you get to the issue of people with genuine mobility problems.
I was thinking a while ago that the solution may be a commuter prod, a device similar to a cattle prod only with a low-intensity buzzer in the tip, letting whoever it is pushed into know that they are standing in a choke point and need to move. They could even be integrated into the tops of umbrellas.
Of course, this could only work in an unarmed and not particularly aggressive society.
posted by acb at 10:57 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
I was thinking a while ago that the solution may be a commuter prod, a device similar to a cattle prod only with a low-intensity buzzer in the tip, letting whoever it is pushed into know that they are standing in a choke point and need to move. They could even be integrated into the tops of umbrellas.
Of course, this could only work in an unarmed and not particularly aggressive society.
posted by acb at 10:57 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
It's just soothing and fun to watch all the tiny trains flow along the tiny tracks. Completely different than actually being in a Tokyo subway station, in my limited experience.
posted by xingcat at 11:22 AM on October 15, 2013
posted by xingcat at 11:22 AM on October 15, 2013
There's a whole bunch of swastikas on that map.
posted by vbfg at 11:23 AM on October 15 [+] [!]
Those are Buddhist temples or shrines. The symbol itself translates as "well being" or "luck".
posted by notyou at 11:29 AM on October 15 [+] [!]
Also, the swastikas used in Eastern religions face the wrong way compared to the Nazi version.
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 11:24 AM on October 15, 2013
posted by vbfg at 11:23 AM on October 15 [+] [!]
Those are Buddhist temples or shrines. The symbol itself translates as "well being" or "luck".
posted by notyou at 11:29 AM on October 15 [+] [!]
Also, the swastikas used in Eastern religions face the wrong way compared to the Nazi version.
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 11:24 AM on October 15, 2013
As someone who designs train patterns for a living now... zowie, this makes my special place feel all warm & funny.
I FOUND MY SPECIAL PURPOSE, MOMMA!
posted by IAmBroom at 11:25 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
I FOUND MY SPECIAL PURPOSE, MOMMA!
posted by IAmBroom at 11:25 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Also, the swastikas used in Eastern religions face the wrong way compared to the Nazi version.
Actually, apparently that's not supposed to be true... Anyway, the Swastika indicates the location of a Buddhist temple.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:47 AM on October 15, 2013
Actually, apparently that's not supposed to be true... Anyway, the Swastika indicates the location of a Buddhist temple.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:47 AM on October 15, 2013
My husband has done (unrelated) mapping work for Irish Rail and is currently working with OpenLayers (which this apparently is built in) so he's super interested in this whole thing. We've even emailed it to his work address so he can look at it in more detail tomorrow.
posted by shelleycat at 11:55 AM on October 15, 2013
posted by shelleycat at 11:55 AM on October 15, 2013
Awesome except for the extremely irritating, auto-play ad in which a crab yells at me.
posted by maryr at 12:21 PM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by maryr at 12:21 PM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Also, the swastikas used in Eastern religions face the wrong way compared to the Nazi version.
Yeah this is not strictly true, or at least you see plenty of right-facing swastikas in Asia. In Japan they are less common than left-facing ones (which indicate temples, for example) but you definitely see them in art and stuff sometimes.
It's Typhoon #26, dammit!
Heh, yeah its strange to me becuase the JMA does appear to name them, but if I use a name when talking to Japanese friends they never seem to know what I'm talking about.
posted by wildcrdj at 3:04 PM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Yeah this is not strictly true, or at least you see plenty of right-facing swastikas in Asia. In Japan they are less common than left-facing ones (which indicate temples, for example) but you definitely see them in art and stuff sometimes.
It's Typhoon #26, dammit!
Heh, yeah its strange to me becuase the JMA does appear to name them, but if I use a name when talking to Japanese friends they never seem to know what I'm talking about.
posted by wildcrdj at 3:04 PM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
The thing that makes me saddest about the Amtrak status maps is that it shows anything less than half an hour late in green. Like only being 23 minutes late doesn't even count. Or maybe what makes me saddest is that only half of the trains are green.
Ugh. Maybe I need to move to a smaller, more densely populated country.
posted by aubilenon at 4:00 PM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Ugh. Maybe I need to move to a smaller, more densely populated country.
posted by aubilenon at 4:00 PM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
More on topic: The train system in Japan is truly amazing. I've used trains in NYC, Europe, etc but nothing there ever made me wish I had an alternative to my car the way the Japanese system did. If we had a Tokyo-style system in LA I would be super happy. It will never happen, both for $ and density reasons (although LA has ~8,000 / sq mile and Tokyo has ~16,000 / sq mile, so its only off by a factor of 2).
posted by wildcrdj at 4:38 PM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by wildcrdj at 4:38 PM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
wildcrdj: "Heh, yeah its strange to me becuase the JMA does appear to name them, but if I use a name when talking to Japanese friends they never seem to know what I'm talking about."
They're not named by the JMA, but by the Typhoon Committee, whose members are China, Japan, Laos, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Macao, North Korea, Singapore, and the US. I'm sure the JMA uses the Asian names when exchanging typhoon information with other countries, but not internally.
posted by Bugbread at 5:13 PM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
They're not named by the JMA, but by the Typhoon Committee, whose members are China, Japan, Laos, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Macao, North Korea, Singapore, and the US. I'm sure the JMA uses the Asian names when exchanging typhoon information with other countries, but not internally.
posted by Bugbread at 5:13 PM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'm sure the JMA uses the Asian names when exchanging typhoon information with other countries, but not internally
Yeah I really meant they use them on their website, although maybe thats just in English (my kanji is not good enough to read the JP site).
posted by wildcrdj at 5:25 PM on October 15, 2013
Yeah I really meant they use them on their website, although maybe thats just in English (my kanji is not good enough to read the JP site).
posted by wildcrdj at 5:25 PM on October 15, 2013
Pfff. 24 is amateur hour.
Off the top of my head the Victoria Line on the London Underground now does 33 trains per hour in the peaks. Jubilee does about 30tph as well.
The Ginza Line meets or exceeds that during the morning rush hour. That's the best comparison based on train capacity -- the Yamanote Line can hold many more people so it doesn't need headways as short.
posted by armage at 8:00 PM on October 15, 2013
Off the top of my head the Victoria Line on the London Underground now does 33 trains per hour in the peaks. Jubilee does about 30tph as well.
The Ginza Line meets or exceeds that during the morning rush hour. That's the best comparison based on train capacity -- the Yamanote Line can hold many more people so it doesn't need headways as short.
posted by armage at 8:00 PM on October 15, 2013
Here's the schedule for the Ginza Line (at Nihonbashi Station). It shows 30 trains per hour at peak, so I guess two minutes apart is the smallest interval they can run safely.
I'm curious if the train company decided to construct schedules based on hours:minutes:seconds, rather than hours:minutes, if they would then be able to run them closer together.
posted by woodblock100 at 8:45 PM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'm curious if the train company decided to construct schedules based on hours:minutes:seconds, rather than hours:minutes, if they would then be able to run them closer together.
posted by woodblock100 at 8:45 PM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
I believe that the actual schedules that train conductors and drivers follow is timed down to the second. If you look they are often posted on the platforms (in order for the station staff to assist with announcements during embarking/disembarking).
For example, in this image of a Tokaido Shinkansen timetable, you can see that train arrivals and departures are timed down to the quarter-minute.
posted by armage at 12:02 AM on October 16, 2013
For example, in this image of a Tokaido Shinkansen timetable, you can see that train arrivals and departures are timed down to the quarter-minute.
posted by armage at 12:02 AM on October 16, 2013
(In fact if I remember correctly we've actually got a MeFite who does those simulations, although I can't remember his name!)
That would be me! (Although in a former job, but it was true at the last meetup that Garius and I were both at)
I get the impression that I was sort of IAmBroom's UK opposite number.
Pfff. 24 is amateur hour.
Off the top of my head the Victoria Line on the London Underground now does 33 trains per hour in the peaks. Jubilee does about 30tph as well.
The important thing about Metro services (Jubilee and Vic) is that they don't really have to keep to a timetable. The problem is throughput only. If you are running heavy rail and have to wait on Platform until right time then the situation gets very very difficult.
The Thameslink Core (Blackfriars to St Pancras) is planned to have 24 tph in both directions on a pair of tracks, with those tracks converging at one end and diverging at another so having the train turn up on time and leave on time is vital, Otherwise passengers end up on the wrong side of the country.
I believe that the actual schedules that train conductors and drivers follow is timed down to the second. If you look they are often posted on the platforms (in order for the station staff to assist with announcements during embarking/disembarking).
They are actually planning to have countdown clocks in the train cars because at these kind of tolerances it really can come down to matters of seconds.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 4:41 AM on October 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
That would be me! (Although in a former job, but it was true at the last meetup that Garius and I were both at)
I get the impression that I was sort of IAmBroom's UK opposite number.
Pfff. 24 is amateur hour.
Off the top of my head the Victoria Line on the London Underground now does 33 trains per hour in the peaks. Jubilee does about 30tph as well.
The important thing about Metro services (Jubilee and Vic) is that they don't really have to keep to a timetable. The problem is throughput only. If you are running heavy rail and have to wait on Platform until right time then the situation gets very very difficult.
The Thameslink Core (Blackfriars to St Pancras) is planned to have 24 tph in both directions on a pair of tracks, with those tracks converging at one end and diverging at another so having the train turn up on time and leave on time is vital, Otherwise passengers end up on the wrong side of the country.
I believe that the actual schedules that train conductors and drivers follow is timed down to the second. If you look they are often posted on the platforms (in order for the station staff to assist with announcements during embarking/disembarking).
They are actually planning to have countdown clocks in the train cars because at these kind of tolerances it really can come down to matters of seconds.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 4:41 AM on October 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
Oh also, the passenger flow tools that Garius is referring to is likely Legion
and you can see some simulation examples here
including a rather nice 3D render of North Greenwich (Jubilee Line)
OR a bit more zombie style version of Superbowl stadium planning
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 4:49 AM on October 16, 2013
and you can see some simulation examples here
including a rather nice 3D render of North Greenwich (Jubilee Line)
OR a bit more zombie style version of Superbowl stadium planning
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 4:49 AM on October 16, 2013
You're absolutely right of course - Metro is easier in that sense.
The Thameslink Core (Blackfriars to St Pancras) is planned to have 24 tph in both directions on a pair of tracks, with those tracks converging at one end and diverging at another so having the train turn up on time and leave on time is vital, Otherwise passengers end up on the wrong side of the country.
This is a big issue for Crossrail as well, obviously, although yes - not as big as for Thameslink. The draft Thameslink timetable from Network Rail is something that MC Escher would be proud of.
One of the things that fascinates me about timetabling services like this - particularly when branch lines get involved - is that it suddenly becomes really, really important to know your multiplication tables. If you've got 4 trains an hour coming in from one direction, and 6 trains an hour from the other, how do you dovetail them into a consistent core service and beyond?
Circle Line had that issue historically as well - hence the reason for breaking it and sending it to Hammersmith.
I'd not seen that Legion modelling stuff before - only the zombie versions. Fascinating!
posted by garius at 5:28 AM on October 16, 2013
The Thameslink Core (Blackfriars to St Pancras) is planned to have 24 tph in both directions on a pair of tracks, with those tracks converging at one end and diverging at another so having the train turn up on time and leave on time is vital, Otherwise passengers end up on the wrong side of the country.
This is a big issue for Crossrail as well, obviously, although yes - not as big as for Thameslink. The draft Thameslink timetable from Network Rail is something that MC Escher would be proud of.
One of the things that fascinates me about timetabling services like this - particularly when branch lines get involved - is that it suddenly becomes really, really important to know your multiplication tables. If you've got 4 trains an hour coming in from one direction, and 6 trains an hour from the other, how do you dovetail them into a consistent core service and beyond?
Circle Line had that issue historically as well - hence the reason for breaking it and sending it to Hammersmith.
I'd not seen that Legion modelling stuff before - only the zombie versions. Fascinating!
posted by garius at 5:28 AM on October 16, 2013
I've lived in big cities my whole life - NYC and London - and always take public transit when available. The Japanese rail system is amazing - but the emphasis on dwell times and punctuality can get a little crazy. We had to transfer with luggage from the Hokuetsu express to the Joetsu Shinkansen on a Sunday night during the height of ski season. The crush to get on the train was just amazing - I was honestly nervous that I was going to lose my wife and we would get separated and one of us (or one of our bags) wouldn't make the train - because I knew when that time hit, those doors were closing - with us on it or not.
It was quite a change from the very very civilized Shinkansen we took elsewhere in Japan.
posted by JPD at 6:05 AM on October 16, 2013
It was quite a change from the very very civilized Shinkansen we took elsewhere in Japan.
posted by JPD at 6:05 AM on October 16, 2013
What I've learned from this map is that 7-11s are as ubiquitous in Tokyo as they are in the U.S.
posted by jenny76 at 8:40 AM on October 16, 2013
posted by jenny76 at 8:40 AM on October 16, 2013
Just this guy, y'know: "They are actually planning to have countdown clocks in the train cars because at these kind of tolerances it really can come down to matters of seconds."
The systems we're designing now have "headway" - basically the time difference between consecutive cars arriving at a station - of about 2 minutes. So, yeah: the minute hand is no longer adequate to describe train schedules.
posted by IAmBroom at 10:57 AM on October 16, 2013
The systems we're designing now have "headway" - basically the time difference between consecutive cars arriving at a station - of about 2 minutes. So, yeah: the minute hand is no longer adequate to describe train schedules.
posted by IAmBroom at 10:57 AM on October 16, 2013
jenny76: "What I've learned from this map is that 7-11s are as ubiquitous in Tokyo as they are in the U.S."
More ubiquitous. Keep in mind that 7-11 is now a Japanese-owned company. There are (according to Wikipedia) 14,000 7-Elevens in Japan, vs. 8,200 in the US. Adjusted for population, that means that there are roughly 4 times as many 7-Elevens per capita in Japan than there are in the US.
posted by Bugbread at 4:46 PM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
More ubiquitous. Keep in mind that 7-11 is now a Japanese-owned company. There are (according to Wikipedia) 14,000 7-Elevens in Japan, vs. 8,200 in the US. Adjusted for population, that means that there are roughly 4 times as many 7-Elevens per capita in Japan than there are in the US.
posted by Bugbread at 4:46 PM on October 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
More ubiquitous
They are also a very different animal. I do (most of) my banking at the 7-11, and get most of my entrees and salads there. But I'm sometimes frustrated in the salad department, because on occasion when I take my item to the register, they won't sell it to me. The barcode shows as being 'stale dated' (more than six hours since it was made) and they won't hand it over. I have to go and choose something else.
I also use them as my colour printer. I have only black and white laser printers here in the shop, so when I need a large size colour printout I go online to 7-11, upload the file to their system, and then head over there, put a coin into their (giant) copy machine, punch in the number the website gave me, and get the printout ...
posted by woodblock100 at 9:20 PM on October 16, 2013
They are also a very different animal. I do (most of) my banking at the 7-11, and get most of my entrees and salads there. But I'm sometimes frustrated in the salad department, because on occasion when I take my item to the register, they won't sell it to me. The barcode shows as being 'stale dated' (more than six hours since it was made) and they won't hand it over. I have to go and choose something else.
I also use them as my colour printer. I have only black and white laser printers here in the shop, so when I need a large size colour printout I go online to 7-11, upload the file to their system, and then head over there, put a coin into their (giant) copy machine, punch in the number the website gave me, and get the printout ...
posted by woodblock100 at 9:20 PM on October 16, 2013
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posted by elizardbits at 8:07 AM on October 15, 2013 [1 favorite]