On the Tsukuba Express in Japan, a train arrives at Minami-Nagareyama right on schedule, at 9:43:40 in the morning.
The timetable says it should leave at 9:44:40. Instead the train pulls away at 9:44:20. That is 20 seconds early.
What went wrong between the arrival and the departure?
The crew did not check the departure time carefully enough. They closed the doors too soon and started the train without waiting for the schedule.
The planned stop lasts one minute. The real stop lasts only 40 seconds.
Nobody misses the train. Nobody files a complaint.
Even so, the Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company offers an apology. Management says it sincerely apologizes. It calls the inconvenience to customers severe and expresses deep regret.
The odd part is those two facts side by side. No one complained. Still, the company treated an early departure as a serious inconvenience. In Japan, where trains rarely leave at a time other than the one on the timetable, leaving early counts as a mistake too.
The train arrives on time.
The crew does not honor the departure time.
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