The Chinese are very involved in racing pigeons. They raise the birds in their home loft - then carry them est. 400 miles away - release them - and the first one home is declared the winner. These pigeons can fly 80 miles per hour. Two scamps tried to game the system by carrying the birds on the bullet train and then releasing them - but they arrived much to soon to be recognized as legitimate and the handlers confessed to their misdeed. You might call them "stool pigeons". The teller of this tale recalled the gal from Brooklyn who - halfway thru the New York Marathon - jumped on the subway and arrived at the finish line in remarkable time. Of course, this was an era when the subways ran on schedule!!
tjs
Rosie Ruiz was quickly disqualified from her marathon "win." But you're right, for a time, mass transit WAS rapid transit.
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