A Japanese railway operator has issued a formal apology for the "great inconvenience" placed upon its customers caused by a train departing 25 seconds early.

近日，日本一家铁路公司因其一列火车提前了25秒发车，对给旅客带来的“极大不便”郑重致歉。

Early Friday morning, a train en route to the Nishi-Akashi Station departed Notogawa Station at 7:11:35 am instead of 7:12 am on the dot.

周五早上，这趟发往西明石车站的列车本该于7时12分从能登川站开出，但在7时11分35秒提前发车。

There was no complaint from customers over this incident, but the West Japan Railway Company, or JR West, has issued a humble¹ apology for its "inexcusable" mistake.

虽然没有旅客投诉该事件，但西日本旅客铁道公司为犯下这一“不可原谅的”错误真诚致歉。

Japanese railway services, including shinkansen bullet trains, are famous for their world-beating punctuality.

包括新干线在内的日本铁路服务向来以百分百准时著称。

Even the slightest delay prompts an effusive² apology from train or station personnel, which often lasts longer than the holdup itself.

即使是丝毫的延迟也会引起火车或车站人员诚挚的道歉，而这种情况通常持续的时间比停滞本身还要长。

With trains running the same route every few minutes to cope with huge numbers of passengers, even brief delays can back up the whole network, causing overcrowding.

为了提高运力，相同线路每隔几分钟都会有多辆列车同时运行，即便是小小的延误都会影响整个铁路系统，导致“塞车”。