this post was submitted on 22 Jul 2023
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City Life

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The difference between Tokyo and Chicago trains is night and day (beehaw.org)
submitted 1 year ago by hypevhs@beehaw.org to c/citylife@beehaw.org
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Taking the blue line out of O'Hare airport and we are immediately being yanked around in every direction. Whereas in Tokyo, the curvature of the track and maximum speed inputted by the driver were linked.

In Tokyo, whenever I saw a long row of cushioned seats I thought to myself we could never have this in Chicago. It wouldn't last one day before being barfed or pissed upon.

In Tokyo, Metro trains are equipped with multiple TV screens displaying the next station, number of minutes to arrival, and a diagram of optimal exits in relation to your current car number. In Chicago, we have two or three sheets of cardstock, that are occasionally not even lined up correctly. That's the map.

The worst part is, JR is privatized, and they still manage to provide this high quality of service. How??

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[–] ohokthatsgood@beehaw.org 4 points 1 year ago

We got back from Tokyo recently as well! There's a very apparent difference in culture that I think contributes to this. I'm not Japanese nor am I super experienced with Japanese culture so I can't comfortablely speak on what those differences are. However we also can't ignore the fact that public transit in general is massively underfunded across the states, not just in Chicago. We're car-centric first, and public-transit-based like, fourth is the way I see it. Not that I'm happy about that ofc, I take the train and the bus everywhere I can, but that's just the reality of the situation right now. Tokyo's train system is very obviously much better funded than Chicago's, and the infrastructure is built to support that.