TOKYO, Dec. 25 (AFP) – When the mercury plummets in Japan, hot water is sprayed onto the bullet train's tracks – one of several measures to ensure snow does not disrupt the high-speed services, famed for their punctuality.

In contrast to the three-day shutdown of the Eurostar in the tunnel under the English Channel due to ''fluffier'' than expected snow, Japan's ''shinkansen'' trains are rarely delayed significantly by a cold snap.

Last December, a bullet train in northern Yamagata prefecture made the headlines due to a delay of just an hour and 25 minutes due to a snowstorm.

''We have various methods to tackle snowfalls: Sprinkling hot water on tracks to melt the snow, putting ploughs on the front cars, and coating cables with a chemical substance that prevents snow sticking,'' a railway official said.

Eurostar said the severe delay to the Paris-London service appeared to be linked to powdery snow which built up in the engine and condensed on entry to the tunnel, causing electrical faults.

Japanese railway officials were careful Tuesday not to gloat that such a thing would never happen in Japan, saying that the cause of the Eurostar's problems were not yet completely clear.

Even Japan's technological prowess sometimes meets its match in mother nature, such as when earthquakes rattle the archipelago or typhoons bring strong wind and rains, causing delays to rail services.

Japan spends billions of yen on safety measures and steps to minimize delays to the shinkansen trains, which whisk hundreds of thousands of passengers across the world's number two economy every day.