The timetable format is one train per column. Let us assume a situation in which a train departs on an express train and transfers to a local train at an intermediate station. This kind of situation is bound to occur when the destination is a station that an express train passes through. For example, if you were to take the “Nozomi” train from Tokyo Station on the Tokaido Shinkansen to the west and change to the “Kodama” train at Nagoya Station for Gifu Hashima Station, you would probably decide on your train in the following manner. Find the first “Nozomi” you want to take by looking at the time schedule at Tokyo Station.
Check the arrival time of the “Nozomi” train at Nagoya Station.
Search for “Kodama” leaving Nagoya Station after the confirmed arrival time in the “Nagoya Station” line of the timetable. As mentioned earlier, in the timetable format, “the further to the right, the later the time”. So, you can’t just look to the right of the arrival time of “Nozomi” at Nagoya Station, which is the first time you decided to take the train. …… Why?
The order of the trains is a mess as they are overtaken and overtaken by other trains. As you can easily understand if you ride the “Kodama”, the “Kodama” is overtaken by the “Nozomi” and “Hikari” trains many times between Tokyo and Nagoya alone. When overtaken, the overtaken train is ahead of the overtaken train. However, the timetable format is based on “one train per line,” so no matter how many trains are overtaken along the way, they remain in the same line. This means that while trains are being overtaken one after another, the “later crows become first” situation occurs. Let us look at a concrete example using the timetable as of the beginning of March 2023, when this paper is written. The “Kodama 707” departs Tokyo Station at 7:57 am and arrives at Nagoya Station at 10:37 am. During this 2 hours and 40 minutes, “Nozomi” and “Hikari” trains departing from Tokyo Station later will be ahead of it one after another. Therefore, when looking at the “Nagoya” line in the timetable, trains that arrive earlier than the “Kodama 707” arrive at Nagoya Station are lined up on the right side of the timetable. Therefore, the following is a list of trains, including extra trains, that leave Tokyo Station after the “Kodama 707” and arrive at Nagoya Station earlier than the “Kodama 707” (arrival times in parentheses are for Nagoya Station). The last train, “Nozomi No. 213” is included because it directly connects with “Kodama No. 707”. Nozomi No. 207 (9:39)
Hikari 503 (10:01)
Nozomi 15 (9:45)
Nozomi 129 (9:49)
Nozomi No. 295 (9:54)
Nozomi No. 209/131 (9:56)
Nozomi 297 (10:04)
Kodama 709 (11:06)
Nozomi No. 17 (10:09)
Hikari 635 (10:14)
Nozomi No. 211 (10:16)
Nozomi No. 133/299 (10:22)
Nozomi 301 (10:23)
Nozomi 83 (10:31)
Nozomi 303 (10:33)
Kodama 711 (11:37)
Nozomi No. 213 (10:39) These trains are lined up in the order of departure from Tokyo Station according to the paper timetable, so they are on the right side of the queue ahead of “Kodama No. 707. However, the order of the trains is then switched by overtaking and waiting, and they arrive at Nagoya Station earlier than “Kodama 707”. There are also situations where a slower “Hikari” is sandwiched between two “Nozomi” trains.
© Source travel watch