Creating Time Out of Nothing: Why Tokyo's Trains Are Always On Time

Back in the 1900s, Japanese train companies faced the problem of overcapacity. They could not accommodate all their commuters with their current rolling stock. At the same time, it was extremely difficult for them to acquire new trains. 

They came up with multiple solutions.

First, the simplest thing they could do was to increase the frequency of trains.

Then, they reworked stations so that there was less waiting and better flow towards the platforms. And so, the architecture of train stations slowly evolved.

The trains also changed. With the introduction of the 101 Kei Shinseinou Train, drivers had the ability to accelerate and decelerate better due to the train's lighter construction developed by ex-warplane engineers. In other words, they had better control of the train's speed. This technique is called "Recovery Driving''.

The next problem was that it was sometimes difficult to predict how long it takes to board passengers. With this uncertainty, it was not possible to follow the operators' schedule to the dot. Delays would appear and it would affect the whole system. If one train were to arrive late, the whole system could be delayed.

So instead, operators came up with some buffer time at each station.

For example, if it usually takes 20 seconds to board a train, they might add in another 10 seconds just in case. If it takes longer than 20 seconds, the time taken is still within that time limit if you count the buffer. If it takes less than 20 seconds, that's also not a problem.

The magic happens with “Recovery Driving”. If the train departs later than expected, drivers can accelerate accordingly to make up for the loss time. If it takes less time than usual, drivers can slow down to make sure that the train arrives according to the schedule and does not arrive too early.

Michael Fisch, the author of An Anthropology of the Machine, argued that this was one element of yoyuu (余裕). The word has a connotation that you are able to make additional time or space out of nothing while going through all the trouble to do so. In this sense, operators used yoyuu by adding in buffer times and adjusting internally to make sure that the trains run accordingly to those constraints.

In terms of time management, it's a good strategy: add some buffer time on a few things so that you have some room to do your job well. Besides, you can never predict how long a task will exactly take. It's a good technique to have in a world of uncertainty.

But even in the most human sense of the term, there is also another meaning of yoyuu. There is a phrase called "kokoro no yoyuu" (心の余裕). It implies that you overcome some psychological barriers to create an emotional space for others. In this sense, you are not trying to alter the external factors around you, for you have very little control of them most of the time. Rather, you work on yourself internally to reconfigure all the obstacles and feelings so that you have room for another person.

Making an effort for someone beyond ourselves paradoxically means that we have to work on ourselves first.