Death by Train
(Written back around 2001~2002)
It was Monday afternoon and I was on my way back from the Narita Airport after being awake for more than 24 hours - yes those trans-pacific flights can be a killer (foreshadowing, no pun intended). As is usually the case, I took the Keisei Express line backwhich left about 5 minutes after the Keisei Skyliner. (For those that don’t know, the Express is about half the price, and is only slower by about 15 minutes). I was just exhausted, but I knew that after getting back to my apartment, I had a company dinner to go to. But, I thought, at least I could relax for a few minutes first.
The train was chugging along at a steady pace, stopping at the major stations to pick up or drop off passengers. As I wasn’t able to get a seat, I kept myself busy by sending emails using my cellular phone. When the train got to Machiya station, I noticed lots of white fluffy stuff floating around. The first thought that came to mind was Wow! It’s snowing! I was impressed partly due to the fact that during my trip back to Canada / USA I didn’t see any snow except for what was on Mount Washington; and that it had already snowed 2-3 times in Tokyo prior to and during the my trip. (and some people think that Canada is just a big ice park) . I was so excited, that I thought of emailing my friends to share the news. However, I looked more closely at the ’snow’ and it struck me as odd that the white things were truly floating about freely. Thinking that I was hallucinating from lack of rest, I went back to my emails.
Tick … tock … tick … tock.
The train wasn’t moving.
Tick … tock … tick … tock.
People on the platform pointed at something underneath the train.
A crowd gathered.
People were covering their mouths.
Several train personnel starting running towards the train, towards the carriage that I was on.
They started pointing.
Some of the personnel went down onto the track area.
The people inside the carriage had that oh-so-frightened look on their face.
Someone on the train said ‘kawai’ which means ’scary’.
Tick … tock … tick … tock.
By then I realized what had happened and called my boss to tell him I probably wouldn’t make it for the company dinner.
Tick … tock … tick … tock.
The lights in the train were turned off.
A white stretcher was brought onto the train tracks.
Personnel, with walkie talkies in hand were running in all directions.
The station master was bowing to the bystanders who had amassed on the platform.
Announcements were made saying ’sorry for the delay, there’s been an accident’.
People in the train were showing signs of discomfort.
The little girl next to me had tears running down her eyes.
Tick … tock … tick … tock.
Several personnel put on their rubber gloves.
The body was hoisted onto the stretcher.
A white sheet was used to wrap the body several times.
Several personnel helped to hoist the stretcher onto the platform area.
The body was left on the platform - a sickening sight - with blood seeping through the sheets and the body malformed.
About 15 metres away, a group of bystanders were staring in shock.
The lights in the train were turned back on.
Another announcement was made to apologize.
The train started up, and I headed to my final stop for this line - Nippori Station.
Changed to the Yamanote line heading towards Ikebukuro, then changed to the Tobu Tojo line to my final stop.
What would normally be about a 2~2.5 hour journey ended up being about 3.5 hours.
Dropped my stuff off at the apartment. Plugged in my laptop to download recent emails. Headed off to the Spain Club in Tsukishima to join my fellow colleagues for dinner, drinks, and live flamenco. By the time this was finished, I had been up for at 24~36 hours and I fell asleep on the train - miraculously waking up in time to make my transfer.
For those that don’t know, ‘death by train’ is very common in Japan. I’m almost certain that at least once or twice a week someone in Tokyo will jump in front of a train. I’ve already been inconvenienced several times by this, but this is the first time that I got to see everything up so close. At least I wasn’t at the front of the train to witness the impact when the body first hits the train. A couple of years ago, a friend of mine was on the platform and he saw a young Japanese guy jump in front of the train - and unfortunately for him, my friend witnessed the ensuing splatter. This guy (my friend) was planning on starting his own company in Japan, perhaps staying here for the long-haul, started to really question Japanese society, and within the month, had packed up and returned back to the US. Even more recently, about a week before my trip to Canada, I was heading home on the Tobu Tojo line, about 2-3 stops from my station. My train had stopped, and I had glanced across the platform and saw that someone had jumped/fallen onto the train tracks. I got to my feet, (there’s little that I could do) and a few seconds later, the guy got back onto the platform - brushed his pants - he was smiling a bit sheepishly. Seconds later, a non-stop train passed over the tracks. To this day, I don’t know whether he somehow fell onto the tracks, or was attempting to take his own life.
The most common line for people to jump in front of is the Chuo line which runs right down the middle of the Yamanote loop. My coworker was telling me that there are certain blind spots on this line where the driver can’t see a would-be jumper. Of course, due to news coverage and the Japanese thirst for details, these locations are quite well publicized. So synonymous is the Chuo line with suicide, that a term has been coined - the chuocide.
This incident along with one other has put a bit of a ‘damper’ on my recent trip back to North America. But, things move forward. I’m already thinking about my next trip back.
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