With six more months of train strikes recently announced it is getting hard to imagine a punctual, anxiety-free railway journey in the UK. Over in Japan it’s hard to imagine the opposite. Japan is one of those blessed countries where people understand the value of a modern, reliable, affordable and extensive railway network. In a 2019 global efficiency survey Japan, unsurprisingly, came out on top. And there hasn’t been a strike since the 1970s.

If I had to think of one moment that crystallised all that I admire about Japanese trains it would be when I lost my paper ticket and had to negotiate the exit barrier. An immaculately uniformed young lady listened patiently to my confession then beamed me a smile, pressed the button to release me and bowed deeply as she ushered me through with an honorific salutation. There was never any question of doubting me, or a penalty fare, and not an iota of attitude. I was the customer. I was God.

And therein lies I think a large part of why the train network in Japan works so well. It appears to exist to serve its customers and everything and everyone connected to it is designed to maximising the passenger experience. Japan has almost twice as many stations per head of population as the UK, and the trains are generally modern, clean, reliable and safe. Prices almost never go up. By contrast, who exactly does the train network in Britain serve? The staff? The shareholders? The union leaders?

Japan was introduced to trains at the time of the Meiji restoration (1868), an era of unparalleled dynamism. The first line, designed with the help of British engineers, ran from Shimbashi in Tokyo to nearby Yokohama. The locals took to this new technology warily and there are early reports of passengers leaving their shoes on the platform before boarding and  people dousing passing trains with water as they appeared to be on fire. Etiquette and cleanliness took time to develop, early cars had no toilets leading to random urination. A samurai is recorded as having stuck his backside out of a window and broken wind, for which he was fined 5 yen.

The first railway in Japan (Photo: Henry Guttmann Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Once they got used to them the Japanese soon decided that they loved trains. The country topography suited long distance lines and the experience of train travel, long quiet, communal endurance and the meditative contemplation of unfolding nature seemed to chime with the Japanese character. The rail network expanded rapidly and with a second spasm of development in the early 1960s and the introduction of the majestic Shinkansen (still now the closest rail has got to Concorde) train travel became part of modern Japanese culture. When I think of Japan I think of trains.

A specific train etiquette, in some ways reminiscent of Jane Austen era England developed. To illustrate, the question of whether young women putting on their make-up should be tolerated caused, and still causes, serious debate. Making calls is absolutely verboten. I’ve seen it once, a salary man trying to quickly call someone (presumably his wife), whispering, cowering, trying to make himself both invisible and inaudible. None of which stopped a furious oba-san (old lady) marching over and whacking him on the knees with her handbag.

Of course, it helps that most Japan train lines are profitable. Privatisation, which occurred in 1987, worked here. This is largely due to Japan’s urbanisation, providing a huge number of passengers, but also the clever diversification of rail companies (which own restaurants, shopping, centres and hotels). JR East gets a third of its revenue from non-transportation activities. With JR Kyushu it’s 60 per cent.

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But underpinning everything is the virtuous circle of excellent service and a constant desire to improve, upgrade and innovate being rewarded with supportive behaviour from the vast majority of passengers. It’s a good example of the unspoken compact that can exist in a truly cohesive society between authorities and citizens. Everyone is basically on the same side, and it is in the interests of all to maintain high standards. This manifests itself in the almost obsessive regard for cleanliness and the fabled punctuality (it’s not true that if the Shinkansen is a few seconds late the entire crew must commit ritual suicide, but it would make the news if it was delayed).

Of course, not everything is exemplary. I’m conscious that my admiration for the Japanese train traveler comes from a distinctly male perspective – groping (‘chikan’) remains an issue especially on the packed morning commuter lines (women-only cars were introduced in 2001). And there are breakdowns and delays, and even now and again the odd accident.

And there are trivial irritations. Your patience may be tested by the jingles and endlessly repeated passenger information messages (‘the ticket is valid for the day printed on your ticket’). I have been told that all this was introduced in the 1970s to give the otherwise under-occupied staff something to do.

Still, the Japanese are proud of their trains and rightly so. We are, sadly also rightly so, embarrassed by ours.<//>