Snake on a bullet train causes rare railway delay in Japan

Almost nothing stops Japan’s famous high-speed bullet trains from running exactly on time – but a tiny snake slithering through a passenger carriage will do the trick, albeit for just 17 minutes.

On Tuesday, a commuter reported to station staff in Tokyo that a 40-centimeter (16-inch) snake had been spotted in the carriage of a train arriving from Nagoya, according to the Central Japan Railway Company.

The train had been scheduled to depart for the city of Osaka, but was instead put out of service as a precaution. Another train had to be assigned to the route, causing a delay that, while brief by many other national railway standards, was relatively significant for Japan’s relentlessly punctual service.

No injuries were reported. Over 600 passengers were affected by the delay.