The Japanese railways are courteous to turtles, deer, and humans alike, so it’s no surprise that an entire station has been kept open for a single passenger.

The remote Kami-Shirataki station – located in Engaru, Hokkaido, Japan – has been slowly losing riders. In fact, the demand was so low that even freight service was ended. Japan Railways planned to close the entire station for good – until they discovered the last consistent passenger: a single high schooler who continued to use the train to get to class every day.

Three years ago, the railway system decided to keep the station open until the student graduated school. The accommodating network even changed the train schedule to better fit the girl’s commute. Now, the train makes only two trips: one to bring the girl to class and one to bring her back home. This service will continue until her graduation in March of this year.

While this heart-warming story showcases Japan Railways’ dedication to service, it is also a reminder of the decline of railways in rural Japan. The country is expected to lose a third of their population by 2060, meaning a shrinking workforce and an increase in empty housing. This, coupled with Japan’s new efficient high-speed rails, spells the end of traditional railroads in the country. Hokkaido has seen the closing of 20 rail lines in the last few decades, Fortune reports, with another closing when the student graduates in March.

source: mentalfloss.com

Russia: Rise of the high-speed train surfers

Train surfers are increasingly hitching rides atop Russia’s high-speed trains for kicks or to dodge fares, it appears. In the latest incident, two men from Moscow were detained in St Petersburg after travelling for four hours in freezing temperatures on the roof of the high-speed Sapsan that links the cities. The offenders, aged 18 and 23, suffered no frostbite . They told police they climbed on top of the train for "thrills", not to avoid the expensive ticket, which costs about $120.

Russian Rossiya 1 TV reports that in November four children aged nine to 13 were found surfing a train "under a toxic influence" in the city of Perm. And a news website describes how a 24-year old Moldovan man was detained in February. He was surfing the Sapsan only in "purple panties" in which he had stashed his passport. The website quotes transport police officials as saying fines for train surfing and hopping are ridiculously low. The Russian parliament is currently debating a bill to raise the fine from 100 roubles ($3) to 5,000 ($150).

source: www.bbc.co.uk

train surfing – a vonat külsején vagy tetején utazni
increasingly – egyre nagyobb mértékben
for kicks – az izgalom kedvéért
to dodge – kicselezni
fare – viteldíj
to detain – őrizetben tartani
offender – szabálysértő
frostbite – fagyás
thrills – izgalom, borzongás
under a toxic influence – alcohol vagy tudatmódosító anyag hatása alatt
panties – bugyi
to stash – elrejteni, biztos helyre eltenni
fine – pénzbírság
ridiculously – nevetségesen
to debate – megvitatni

Match the words with the definitions.

answers: 1-c 2-e 3-b 4-a 5-d

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-GB
X-NONE
X-NONE

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