[PRCo] Re: Gas Prices/ Japanese trains

Mon Dec 29 20:06:12 EST 2008

Bad day in Japan. 250 runs cancelled, 137,000 passengers delayed.  This headline news in Japan for Wednesday December 30th.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20081230a3.html

They're not perfect, but this does follow a major storm.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20081229a2.html

Would anybody care here if trains were cancelled?

But this also typical of how the press reports any train related incidents including grade crossing accidents are reported with the delay length duly noted along with an estimate of how many passengers were inconvienced.

Nobody cares over here.  They only care about their entitlements.

Bill

p.s. Local Railways Across Japan from the Mainchi Daily News.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/photospecials/graph/rail/index.html

Fred Schneider wrote:

Our people used to have a concept that minutes were lost seconds at a  
time.  The Japanese apparently worry that they absolutely need to  
recover 15 lost seconds.

Think of that culture.  Americans have no clue what it means to  
board and leave a train in haste to keep it moving on time but in  
Japan they too have to be part of a culture that keeps the railroad  
moving on time.  Can you imagine how a few American tourists could  
screw up the railroad for a whole day???????  And how the engineer  
could end up being disciplined because he could not recover the lost  
couple of minutes?

These people make the Swiss look like slackers.

On Dec 29, 2008, at 1:19 PM, Bill Robb wrote:

> A couple of examples of Japanese on time railway culture.
> An article from Japan Times in the aftermath of the April 2005  
> train crash at Amagasaki.  Management is facing potential criminal  
> charges (professional negiligence) for what they considered, but  
> did not do:  install ATS on that curve.
>
> http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20050526f2.html
>
> http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ed20070109a1.html
>
> Here's a You Tube video inside a Shinkenshen cab with Mr. Sato. (To  
> read the caption, click the triangle icon on the right of seek bar  
> then press CC button.).
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF1HhJM7EkM
>
>
> An article on hand gestures on JR
>
> http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ek20081021wh.html
>
> Bill
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>  Fred Schneider wrote:
>
> Ah but it isn't just Japan where we focus on doing things right.  We
> have a quality of furniture called "early marriage."  It is low
> grade, plywood and pine crap furniture.  The Germans, on the other
> hand, believed that you put your money in the bank and accumulated it
> until you could buy something good.  As I remember, they didn't have
> that inferior grade of merchandise.  It's us always trying to get
> something for less.  It is also an American dream that everything
> has to be new ... new camera ... new cell phone ... new car ... new
> furniture.
>
> Bill, I remember Russ Jackson commenting on JNR time keeping.  He
> recalled looking down a ruler straight piece of two track railroad
> and watching perhaps three locals pull into three different station
> platforms simultaneously while the express trains flew by on the
> center tracks.  It would all fall apart if one train was just a few
> seconds late.  His description of the Japanese railroad people is
> simple, "We simply do not allow imperfections."    I've never been
> there but I get the feeling that carries through into a lot of
> aspects of Japanese life.  Example, my high school friend who told
> me he had just taken Camy (his Toyota Camry) in for her first tuneup
> at 300,030 miles.  My old '59 Ford would have quit running at at
> 40,000.
>
> On Dec 29, 2008, at 12:24 PM, Bill Robb wrote:
>
>> The preoccupation with getting everything cheap is what puts us at
>> an economic disadvantage against Asian economies like Japan.
>> Japanese consumers reject low quality products. It's part of the
>> culture. Many day to day products were once hand made by artisans.
>> If fact at one time producing cheap items could get you killed.
>>
>> Asian governments focus on the strength of their national economy
>> instead of on the consumer. Japan has no fossil fuels of its own,
>> so anything involving energy other than electricity has to be
>> imported.
>>
>> You also find a much greater focus on service in Japan that in the
>> west.  Trains are routinely expected to be within 3 seconds, plus
>> or minus, of arrival time.
>>
>> I think the sole focus on the consumer is one of weaknesses of the
>> Western system.
>>
>> Bill
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ________________________________
>>  Edward H. Lybarger wrote:
>>
>> It's not just about money.  Wanting everything cheap is part of
>> what got us
>> into the economic pickle we're in right now.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
>> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of
>> John
>> Swindler
>> Sent: Monday, December 29, 2008 9:38 AM
>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org; Bruce Bente; Al Schneider;
>> Philip
>> Craig
>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Gas Prices
>>
>>
>>
>> I'm disappointed in you, Fred, for quoting a $854 price for round
>> trip to
>> west coast.  Trying to scare people away from traveling so you can
>> get a
>> better rate?
>> Phil's problem was that a specific holiday and specific travel days
>> got in
>> the way of finding a good price.  (and these are nice problems to
>> have,
>> particularly given Phil's current employment situation - plus  
>> visiting
>> family)  Delta has a $187.99 price for round trip to San Diego with
>> 14-day
>> advance purchase from White Plains airport.  Change in Detroit
>> outbound and
>> change in Atlanta inbound.  And it is a real airplane west of the
>> Mississippi.  The quote is from Travelocity.
>>
>> For a real airport, probably looking at around $300 round trip.
>>
>> And as for driving, I'd like to sleep in a comfortable room a few
>> times and
>> have a few meals while heading west.  That has to be factored in.
>> And my
>> car would be due another oil change upon return.  Don't forget that
>> cost,
>> because maintenance is factored into the airline ticket price.  And
>> I don't
>> think the airlines get their planes for free - yet.
>>
>> We were in New York over the weekend, and paid $1.45 per gallon for
>> gas in
>> New Jersey. The traffic was incredible until we got to
>> Pennsylvania.  Enjoy
>> these gas prices while they last, because these rates are not good
>> news for
>> those who advocate alternate energy sources.  I would not be
>> surprised if
>> government policy will try to raise energy costs during 2009.  Make
>> us feel
>> more pain in the wallet.
>>
>> And how about those Steelers?  Great games yesterday to sort out the
>> playoffs.  Pittsburgh probably has the best backup quarterback in
>> the NFL.
>> Scored 24 unanswered points after Ben suffered his concussion.
>> There are
>> some very good 'wild card' teams this year.  (just to struggle for
>> at least
>> a Pittsburgh connection)
>>
>> Cheers
>> John
>>
>>
>>> To: bbente at bellsouth.net; pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org;
>>> alschneider2 at juno.com; philgcraig204 at yahoo.com> From:
>>> fwschneider at comcast.net> Subject: [PRCo] Gas Prices> Date: Sun, 28
>>> Dec
>>> 2008 13:40:45 -0500> > Now I'm really getting scared by this
>>> "recession."> > Gasoline in Lancaster is now down to $1.54, the
>>> lowest
>>> price, > adjusted for inflation by any means (including the CPI)
>>> in my
>>>> lifetime or even my father's lifetime. If we were to adjust the 8 >
>>> gallons for a dollar from the middle of the Depression, today's  
>>> price
>>>> is still almost 25% under that once adjusted to the Consumer  
>>>> Price >
>>> Index. If adjusted to wholesale prices, the drop since the 1930s  
>>> is >
>>> far greater.> > Phil Craig was telling me that the best price he
>>> could
>>> find to visit > his daughter from Newark airport to San Diego for
>>> Hanukkah holiday > was $854. I figure the cost of gasoline for a
>>> round
>>> trip to the > west coast is now an unprecedented low of $300. > >
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