Clear railways in snow country

Before I lived here in Niigata I’d never really wondered about how public transport functioned when weather conditions were incredibly extreme.

The snow out here in winter is immense, and thankfully for road transport there is a network of sprinklers keeping things clear. The other day though, I saw what keeps the rail tracks clear - basically a giant rail sized snow plow.

It gave me a whole new appreciation for how timely Japan’s train network is, given some of the conditions that have to be contended with.