日本新干线2010年总共晚点0.6秒

译者 余游玩水

In 2004, due to typhoons, the Shinkansen total annual delays were 42 seconds. It was a disgrace to Japan. (source)

2004年，受台风影响，新干线年度总共延迟42秒。对日本来说，这已足令其蒙羞。(来源）

If a train were to be late for 5 minutes, everyone receives a free journey and an apology from the conductor. If a train is delayed 10 minutes, it would be in the newspaper.

如果列车晚点5分钟，每名乘客将会并得退款以及列车长的致歉。如果延迟10分钟，将会见诸报端。

So to say train delays are serious business would be an understatement. And last week, knowing what I knew about trains and average delays, I began snapping the following photos, unfolding in time, to mark the first major delay of a Japanese Shinkansen in 2011.

说列车晚点是件极其严重的事绝非危言耸听。上周，据我已了解到的列车平均延迟情况，我抓拍到了下面的若干幅照片，按时间顺序排列，纪录下日本新干线2011年第一起严重的晚点情况。

We were taking a 1:35PM train to Tokyo.

我们乘坐下午1：35的高铁去东京。

1:32PM: Train nowhere to be seen. Passengers seem anxious.

下午1：32：列车还没出现。乘客看起来有些焦急。

1:33PM: The train arrives. On the platform, hundreds of people wait with their babies, luggage and tourist maps. “We’re going to get a refund!” I realize, excitedly.

下午1：33：车来了。在站台上，数百名乘客或带着小孩，拎着行李，或手拿地图。我内心一阵激动“我们能拿到退款了！”

1:34PM: The train pulls all the way into the station. Forget a 5 minute delay, this one’s going to be 10 minutes or more. I can see the newspaper headlines with each passing second.

下午1：34：列车进站。不要说晚点5分钟了，这次得晚上个10几分钟。我都能看见新闻标题上急速而过的每一秒钟。

1:34/1:35PM: First of all, can you believe I caught my camera changing minutes? Second of all, it’s 1:35PM. THE 60 SECOND COUNT DOWN HAS BEGUN! WE ARE GOING TO BE LATE! THERE’S STILL A LINE OUTSIDE OUR CAR! WE’LL BE AT LEAST 10 TO 15 MINUTES TO LOAD ALL THESE PEOPLE! History is, clearly, in the making. GOOD THING I HAVE ALL THESE PHOTOS! Maybe the newspaper will want them for tomorrow’s story!

下午1：34/1：35：首先，你能相信我亲眼见到照相机上的分秒变换吗？其次，现在是下午1：35。已经开始60秒倒数了！我们要迟到了！我们还在一米线外等候！等这些人全部上车至少得10到15分钟！历史，正在改写中。好在我拍了这么多照片！没准报纸还会找我要这些图片登头版呢！

1:35PM: The train is moving.

下午1：35：列车开动。

*jaw drops*

下巴都掉了

1:36PM: We are already going like a zillion miles an hour. I am devastated.

下午1：36：我们近乎“光速”前进。我很震惊。

So in short, the Japanese Shinkansen train is on time. It’s always on time. There are no refunds. There is no formal apology from the conductor. There will be no newspaper article. It’s just another day in efficiently fabulous Japan. Guess I’ll have to get my train-delay fix back on San Francisco’s Muni train.

长话短说，日本新干线一向准时。没有退款。没有列车长的郑重道歉。也不会有报纸文章。不过是这个效率至上美好国度的又一普通的一天。看来我得把列车晚点的注意力放回到旧金山市营交通上了。