The trains are so reliable, not just the bullet trains, that if they are delayed by more than a few minutes they have a bit of paper you can collect and show to your boss so you don't get into trouble.
The bullet trains operate on a 15 second interval timetable, but the drivers typically try to arrive within 1 second of the advertised time. They have a system where they make up time by accelerating a little harder, so they never need to exceed the speed limit. They do the calculations in their head to figure out how to arrive at exactly the right time.
They have been trialling driverless Shinkansen (bullet trains), and one of the parts they had trouble with was replicating that system in software. The new maglev ones are driven by humans, but because the trains are so fast they can't really see things like signals and speed limit signs, so the communication systems with the train have to be extremely reliable. The stopping distance at 500kph is 6.6km, although even the conventional railed ones need 4km.
Even in the conventional Shinkansen, the human drivers are not allowed to do too much themselves. If there is a fault, they are required to open the fault resolution manual, look it up, and follow the instructions precisely, similar to aircraft pilots. There are very few "memory items" that they are supposed to resolve without consulting the book.