Why are trains so expensive? You going that way anyways, just drop me off.
wafi
Somehow Germany’s trains still have a positive reputation in other countries. As someone who lives in Germany, I find that really strange. Germany’s trains are notoriously unpunctual and unreliable.
If there is a country that does it right, I’d say it’s probably Japan. Yes, they have their own problems, e.g., the pressure to be punctual which can break people, but otherwise … no comparison.
It starts at the train station. If you want to buy something to drink or eat in Germany’s train stations, expect to pay more, much much more. In contrast, I found the prices in Japan reasonable. Perhaps a bit higher, but not much. And as for the kind of food, Ekibens — woaw, great idea:
Regarding the trains, I only used the Narita Express and the Shinkansen.
Even at a large train station (Tokyo station), the way to the train was clearly marked:
Including warnings to avoid taking the wrong train:
As for the Shinkansen, they went from Tokyo to Kyoto in a frequency that beats most Germany subway lines. (Yes, Japan is essentially on bent strip of an island, but still.)
People waited at the right place to board the train (marked on the floor, e.g., which car will be where):
The cars themselves are well organized, spacious (took a normal car and has more legroom than in the first class in a German ICE), and just very well done:
And best of all, it is fricking fast:
(I did not speed up the video — that is real time.)
Similar the subways. I hardly use them in Germany, I rather walk. But in Japan, waow.
I already wrote about the subway card and they way it simplifies payment (Subway Card Integration Done Right) — for the subway and at lots of other places.
The cars themselves — clear information about the station and next stops:
People are disciplined and wait in the right places to enter and leave the cars:
They are also disciplined inside — it is surprisingly quiet. Few if any people talk, no telephone calls, no music, etc.
As for the stations, most stations have barriers that prevent that someone falls on the tracks — or is pushed onto them.
Only a few have no barriers:
You can also always clearly see in which direction the train is going (the station on the left is greyed out):
So despite a rather complex subway map …
the actual navigation is quite easy:
especially if you use an app that finds the best subway connection. Organic Maps shows them to you if you select a route and chose «train»:
So, yeah, Kudos.