A Japanese railway operator has issued a formal apology for the "great inconvenience" placed upon its customers caused by a train departing 25 seconds early.
近日，日本一家铁路公司因其一列火车提前了25秒发车，对给旅客带来的“极大不便”郑重致歉。
Early Friday morning, a train en route to the Nishi-Akashi Station departed Notogawa Station at 7:11:35 am instead of 7:12 am on the dot.周五早上，这趟发往西明石车站的列车本该于7时12分从能登川站开出，但在7时11分35秒提前发车。There was no complaint from customers over this incident, but the West Japan Railway Company, or JR West, has issued a humble apology for its "inexcusable" mistake.虽然没有旅客投诉该事件，但西日本旅客铁道公司为犯下这一“不可原谅的”错误真诚致歉。Japanese railway services, including shinkansen bullet trains, are famous for their world-beating punctuality.
包括新干线在内的日本铁路服务向来以百分百准时著称。Even the slightest delay prompts an effusive apology from train or station personnel, which often lasts longer than the holdup itself.即使是丝毫的延迟也会引起火车或车站人员诚挚的道歉，而这种情况通常持续的时间比停滞本身还要长。With trains running the same route every few minutes to cope with huge numbers of passengers, even brief delays can back up the whole network, causing overcrowding.为了提高运力，相同线路每隔几分钟都会有多辆列车同时运行，即便是小小的延误都会影响整个铁路系统，导致“塞车”。