Snake on a train halts Tokyo-bound bullet

Red on yellow will kill a fellow, but red on black is a friend of Jack. Assuming he has a valid ticket, that is ...

A car full of commuters on the Osaka-Tokyo Shinkansen bullet train got a jolt Monday morning when they found a meter-long snake stretched out on one of the seats just before 9 a.m.

The reptile -- apparently, a Honduran milk snake, so clearly not a native -- turned out not to be of the poisonous variety, but it’s unlikely many headed for a Tokyo meeting were aware of that at the time.

Whodunnit?

After stopping the train at Maibara Station, the stop after Kyoto on the Tokaido Shinkansen line, Japan Railway staff called in a local animal-protection group to remove the brightly colored animal.

Authorities say they suspect the snake escaped from a container carried aboard the train by its owner -- a doubtless slippery customer, who’s now being sought by police.

There’s no word on whether he or she will be charged a penalty fare for the unreserved seat taken up by the peripatetic pet.

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