Delay certificate

A delay certificate (Japanese: 遅延証明書, Hepburn: chien shōmei sho) is a document issued by a railway company to certify that a scheduled passenger train arrived at a station later than what is stipulated in the company's scheduled timetable. It is provided to passengers affected by the delay, who can then produce it to their superiors at school or work and is considered as a valid reason for reporting late.^[1]

Example of a delay certificate issued by a Japanese railway (Sagami Railway Yokohama station).

This practice is most prevalent in private and public Japanese railway companies, and has been emulated by a number of rail transport operators in other countries. In addition, a few bus companies in Japan have also adopted this practice.^{[citation needed]}

In Japan

Certificates are issued when delays as little as five minutes occur, and even for instances where the delay is caused by circumstances beyond the railway company's control, such as foul weather or rail suicide. These come in the form of handwritten certificates or printouts given out (generally in 10 × 15 cm strips) by conductors or station staff.

Major Japanese railway companies such as JR East, Tokyu Corporation and Tokyo Metro have introduced electronic versions of the delay certificates on their websites,^[2][3] which would remain there for a week or less. Affected passengers who were unable to or did not collect the certificate could alternatively access and download it into their mobile phones or computers,^[4] and print them out if necessary.

In other countries

France

Paris' RATP issues delay certificates under the name bulletin de retard^[5] if the delay is greater than 15 minutes. They can be used, for example, for late admission at university exams.^[6]

Germany

Germany's Deutsche Bahn issues delay certificates known as Bescheinigung über Zugverspätung, "certificate about train delay".^[1][7]

Malaysia

Example of a delay certificate or 'late slip' issued by Malaysia's Rapid Rail, in English and Malay.

Malaysia's Rapid Rail, which operates the MRT, LRT and monorail in the Klang Valley issues such delay certificates or 'late slip' upon request at their counters if the service delay is due to the operator's fault.^[8]

Singapore

Rail transport operators in Singapore provide delay certificates called travel chits, which are valid for late admission to national examinations such as the Primary School Leaving Examination.^[9] Paper chits are distributed by transport operator staff at transit stations during disruptions. Alternatively, electronic travel chits ("e-travel chit") can be obtained from a website;^[10] this uses the geolocation of the user's mobile device to verify that they are affected by the disruption.^[11]