A Japanese rail company has apologised to commuters after one of its trains left the station 20 seconds earlier than it was scheduled to depart.
Asian media reports say that the Tsukuba Express line between Tokyo and the city of Tsukuba had been due to depart at 9.44:40 but, due to a mix up with staff who had not checked the timetable, it left at 9.44:20 instead.
The rail company said: "The crew did not sufficiently check the departure time and performed the departure operation," and they "sincerely apologise for the inconvenience" caused.
The company released its heartfelt apology despite the fact that it received no customer complaints over the scheduling mix-up.
The Japanese rail network is one of the world's most reliable railways and it is extremely rare for trains to depart at a different time to the one scheduled.
All aboard? A train company in Japan has said sorry after an intercity service departed 20 seconds early. pic.twitter.com/ZmdWEGnywj
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) November 16, 2017
