delay certificate

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Image:Chien-Shoumei.JPG Yokohama station).]]

File:Rapid Rail KL Delay Certificate sample 2.jpg, in English and Malay. It describes date and time of the delay, along which line was affected an a space for the stationmaster's signature and station stamp.|Example of a delay certificate or 'late slip' issued by Malaysia's Rapid Rail, in English and Malay.]]

A delay certificate (Japanese: {{Nihongo||遅延証明書|chien shōmei sho}}, "certificate of lateness"; German: Bescheinigung über Zugverspätung, "certificate about train delay") is a documentation of proof issued by a railway company that its scheduled passenger train arrived at a station later than what is stipulated in the company's scheduled timetable.

This practice is only prevalent in private and public Japanese railway companies and Germany's Deutsche Bahn.[https://web.archive.org/web/20140222134758/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/style/article203560.ece We want to be loved by you...], Richard Johnson, The Sunday Times, 28 May 2006[http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/german-rail-comfortable-economical-and-punctual/article1627962.ece German rail: Comfortable, economical and punctual], Mohan Murti, Business Line, 30 June 2008 Malaysia's Rapid Rail, which operates the MRT, LRT and monorail in the Klang Valley also issues such delay certificates or 'late slip' upon request at their counters if the service delay is due to the operator's fault{{cite news |title=Commuters can collect late slips due to LRT delay from RapidKL |url=https://thesun.my/style-life/going-viral/late-for-work-or-school-due-to-lrt-delay-commuters-can-collect-train-delay-certificates-from-rapidkl-OM12788420 |access-date=9 June 2025 |work=the Sun |date=29 July 2024 |language=en-MY}} whereas Paris' RATP also issues such certificates under the name bulletin de retard{{cite web |url=http://parisobs.nouvelobs.com/article/transports/ile-de-france/voyage-entre-les-lignes,3050,page1.html |accessdate=August 17, 2008 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725085355/http://parisobs.nouvelobs.com/article/transports/ile-de-france/voyage-entre-les-lignes%2C3050%2Cpage1.html |archivedate=July 25, 2008 }} if the delay is greater than 15 minutes. They can be used, for example, for late admission at university exams.{{Cite web |url=http://www.paris-sorbonne.fr/fr/IMG/pdf/FichePratiqueEtudiant.pdf |title=Exam Reglementation at Paris' Sorbonne University |access-date=2008-08-17 |archive-date=2008-12-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207072258/http://www.paris-sorbonne.fr/fr/IMG/pdf/FichePratiqueEtudiant.pdf |url-status=dead }} In addition, a few bus companies in Japan have also adopted this practice.

The certificate is 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 (e.g. foul weather, person under train). Handwritten certificates or printouts given out (generally in 10 × 15 cm strips) by conductors or station staff can be collected by passengers affected by lateness or delay, who can then produce it to their superiors at school or work and considered as a valid reason for reporting late.

Major Japanese railway companies such as JR East, Tokyu Corporation and Tokyo Metro have introduced electronic versions of the delay certificates on their websites,[http://www.shibukei.com/headline/3992/ 東急電鉄、「遅延証明書」をネット発行－JR東と同時開始へ], シブヤ経済新聞, 19 January 2007[http://www.jreast.co.jp/press/2006_2/20061204.pdf ホームページで遅延証明書を発行します。], JR East Press Release, 5 December 2006 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,[https://web.archive.org/web/20080623031339/http://it.nikkei.co.jp/mobile/news/index.aspx?n=NN001Y559+19062008 JR東、携帯で遅延証明書の閲覧可能に——発生から3日間], Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun, 20 June 2008 and print them out if necessary.