… During the Shinkansen‘s 45-year, nearly 7 billion-passenger history, there have been no passenger fatalities due to derailments or collisions, despite frequent earthquakes and typhoons. Injuries and a single fatality have been caused by doors closing on passengers or their belongings …

I’m riding Japan on the extremely comfortable trains, more spacious and comfortable than the European equivalent, I’d say.

I have a Japan Rail Pass, available only to foreigners. JR owns about 70% of the track in the country.

My Pass is good for almost every train, but not the 300 km/h (186 mph) Nozomi. The trip between Tokyo and Osaka, a distance of 515 kilometres, takes 2 hours 26 minutes on Nozomi. My slow poke Bullet train took over 3hrs!

These trains are the envy of UK commuters, and government, says The Guardian.

Obama keeps talking up the concept for the USA, but I doubt it’s going to happen any time soon.

===== Update*

I met a woman on a train today who told me of what happened during the earthquake. The bullet train we were on was shut down for about 2 months. She had a friend on the same line at the time … the train stopped in a tunnel. Passengers had to overnight and then walk out to a peach farm where they were eventually rescued by bus.