Train company warns about lost wireless earphones

NHK -- Nov 03

East Japan Railway Company is urging passengers to be more careful in train stations to avoid dropping their wireless earphones on railway tracks.

The company known as JR East says it recorded 950 cases of dropped wireless earphones at 78 stations in central Tokyo from July to September.

JR East officials showed reporters on Monday how they recover earphones that have fallen onto the tracks, to demonstrate the difficulty of retrieving the small audio gadgets.

Railway officials tried to pick up an earphone with a grabber tool, but the piece was so small that it became buried in gravel under the track.

They say officials at some stations have used various tools for retrieval, including a hand-made stick with a sticky tape attached, as well as a vacuum cleaner.

They also say that sometimes they have had to walk on the tracks to look for earphones after the last train passed through the stations around midnight.

A senior JR East official says passengers tend to lose earphones when they get on and off the train, or when they adjust their face masks. He asks passengers not to try to search for lost earphones themselves because doing so is dangerous.

Nov 03 (ANNnewsCH) - ワイヤレスイヤホンが線路に落ちる事態が相次いでいることを受け、JRが対策に乗り出しています。  技術の進化が招く思わぬ事態・・・。ワイヤレスイヤホンの普及が駅員さんたちに過酷な作業を強いています。手が届かない、しかも砂利の間に落ちた小さな落とし物を拾うミッション。予想以上に難しい作業です。  障害を取り除こうとして、かえって深みにハマるパターン・・・。こうした作業の増加に頭を痛めているのが鉄道会社です。そこで考えました。家電メーカーと共同開発した掃除機タイプ。「つかむのが難しければ吸い付けばいい」というわけです。  一方、棒の先端に粘着テープを付けたタイプ。十条駅の駅員が考案しました。もちろん、落とさないことが一番です。とはいえ、もしも落とした場合、絶対に線路内に降りて自分で拾おうとしてはいけません。命を落とす危険があります。