Society

New Year bullet train bookings fall to record low

Dec 11 (NHK) - Reservations for Shinkansen bullet trains for the year-end and New Year holidays have fallen to a record low due to the spread of the coronavirus in Japan.

Japan Railway group companies announced the figures for reservations made as of Wednesday for the period from December 25 to January 5.

The rate of reservations for the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines is 14 percent each, and the rate for the Kyushu Shinkansen line is 16.6 percent.

The group's overall reservation rate stands at about 15 percent, with the number of reserved seats at about 1.62 million. This is the lowest since the JR group began announcing reservations for the year-end and New Year holiday season in 1997.

JR officials say they hope more people will use bullet trains, as they are being ventilated and disinfected as part of anti-infection measures.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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