Rail transport in Japan

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Rail transport in Japan is a major means of passenger transport, especially for mass and high-speed travel between major cities and for commuter transport in metropolitan areas. Six Japan Railway (JR) companies, once state owned until 1987, provide passenger service to most parts of Hokkaidō, Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū; the seventh JR carries freight. Many private rail companies rank among the top corporations in the country. Regional governments, and companies funded jointly by regional governments and private companies, also provide rail service.

The Okinawa Monorail, providing rail transportation in Okinawa, is the nation's southernmost line. The Tsukuba Express, Japan's newest rail line, opened on August 24, 2005.

There are 27,268 km of rail crisscrossing the country. JR (a group of companies formed after privatization of JNR) controlled 20,135 km of these lines as of March 31, 1996, with the remaining 7,133 km in the hands of private enterprized local railway companies. Japan's railways carry 22.63 billion passengers each year. In comparison, Germany has over 40,000 km of railways, but travels only 1.5 billion passengers per year. [1] The rail system consists of the following: 3,204 km of 1.435 m standard gauge, all electrified; 117 km of 1.372-m narrow gauge, all electrified; 20,265 km of 1.067 m gauge, of which 13,227 km is electrified; 40 km of 0.762 m gauge, all electrified. (as of 2004)

Fukuoka, Kobe, Kyoto, Nagoya, Osaka, Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo and Yokohama have subway systems. However, unlike Europe, the vast majority of passenger traffic is on suburban commuter trains that criss-cross metropolitan areas. In addition, many cities have streetcar and Monorail networks. The Toden Arakawa Line is the only tram line still operating in Tokyo.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Timeline 2 Subways 3 Rail transportation in Japanese culture 3.1 Trains and crime 3.2 Ekiben 3.3 Television 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

Railroads were long the most important means of passenger and freight transportation in Japan, ever since they were established in the late nineteenth century. Government policy promoted railways due to lack of fossil fuels and nearly complete dependence on imports. Rural land near large cities was acquired cheaply by private railways companies as early as the late nineteenth century, and then became the backbone for urban transport, suburban cities formed around train stations radiating out from metropolitan areas, similar to suburban growth around highways in other nations. Despite this planning, growing affluence made road transportation usage rival rail since the 1960s. The relative share of railroads in total passenger kilometers fell from 66.7 percent in 1965 to 42 percent in 1978, and to 29.8 percent in 1990. By contrast, automobiles and domestic airlines were carrying ever-larger shares of the passenger traffic in 1990, however railways still accounted for the largest percentage by far in the OECD. However, in the largest metropolitan areas in Japan: Tokyo (including Chiba, Saitama, Tokyo, and Kanagawa Prefectures), Osaka (including Kyoto, Osaka, and Hyogo Prefectures), and Nagoya, railroad passenger share is much higher at 43.5% [as of 2001]. Private automobiles in greater Tokyo still account for less than 20% of daily trips as walking, bicycling and buses remain extremely popular as well.

[edit] Timeline

• October 14, 1872 - Opening ceremony at both Shimbashi (now Shiodome) and Yokohama (now Sakuragicho)
• February 1, 1895 - Japan's first streetcar opened in Kyoto
• October 1, 1907 - 17 private railways taken over by the government
• December 20, 1914 - Opening of Tokyo Station
• November 1, 1925 - Inauguration of the Yamanote Loop Line
• December 30, 1927 - Tokyo Underground Railway (now Tokyo Metro Ginza Line), the first subway in the East, opened in Tokyo
• June 1, 1949 - Japanese National Railways organized
• May 3, 1962 - The Mikawashima Rail Crash occurs between Mikawashima and Minami-Senju when an Iwaki-bound passenger train crashes into the wreckage of a crash between an Ueno-bound passenger train and an Ueno-bound freight train. 160 people die and 296 are injured in the incident.
• November 9, 1963 - The Yokohama rail crash occurs, killing 161 people.
• October 1, 1964 - The first Shinkansen line opened
• April 1, 1987 - The Japanese National Railways were divided and privatized. The Japan Railway companies succeeded the former JNR.
• April 25, 2005 - The Amagasaki rail crash resulted in 107 deaths.

[edit] Subways

In addition to its extensive railroads, Japan has an impressive number of subway systems. The largest is the Tokyo subway, where the network in 1989 consists of 211 kilometers of track serving 205 stations. Two subway systems serve the capital: one run by the Tokyo Metro (named Teito Rapid Transit Authority until 2004), with eight lines (the oldest, Ginza line was built in 1927), and the other operated by the Tokyo metropolitan government's Transportation Bureau (Toei), with four lines. Outlying and suburban areas are served by seven private railroad companies, whose lines intersect at major stations with the subway system. More than sixty additional kilometers of subway were under construction in 1990 by the two companies.

There are a number of other metro systems in other Japanese cities, including the Fukuoka City Subway, Kobe Municipal Subway, Kyoto Municipal Subway, Osaka Municipal Subway, Nagoya Subway, Sapporo Subway, Sendai Subway and Yokohama Subway.

Hiroshima and Kobe have light rail systems, and Osaka, in addition to its subway, had an intermediate capacity transit system (rubber-tired motor cars running on concrete guideways).

Some cities operate street car systems, including Hiroshima, Matsuyama, Nagasaki, and Tokyo (one line only). All of these cities are also well served by public and private railroads.

[edit] Rail transportation in Japanese culture

[edit] Trains and crime

One of the most widely publicized crimes committed on trains is chikan or groping, taking advantage of overcrowded cars and a reluctance for people to ask for help, or to jump to the aid of another. Typically, the victim is female and the perpetrator male. A recent trend for railway companies to promote their lines is to service female-only cars on some trains (typically during morning rush-hours and late night trains, and often the front or back car) and is quickly becoming a standard practice, especially among Tokyo's busy commuter lines.

Trains are also used as a means to commit suicide. The Chūō Line, one of Tokyo's major train lines, is so infamous for people committing suicide that many English editorials in Japan have taken to using the word Chuicide to refer to the means. Its relative popularity is partly due to its practical ease, and to avoid causing a nuisance to one's family, though families are often charged or sued by the railway companies to compensate for the trouble caused by the accident. A typical suicide may cause delays between one and a few hours^{[citation needed]} on one or more lines and is horrifying for onlookers who are present. Related suicide trends include taking off ones shoes, as well as wearing a signal orange cap.

The costs to the surviving families by the railway companies' "delay fee" is often in the 100 million yen (approx. 850 thousand U.S. Dollars) range.^[1]

[edit] Ekiben

An important aspect of the romance of the rails in Japan is the ekiben. Many stations (eki) around the country make special bento featuring local specialties such as seafood, meat or vegetables. Including generous portions of rice, the ekiben is a complete meal. It was often served in a wooden box; nowadays cardboard and plastics have become popular, although wooden chopsticks still accompany the ekiben. The Central Committee of the Japanese Association of Railroad Station Concessionaires (社団法人日本鉄道構内営業中央会) is a prominent trade organization promoting ekiben.

[edit] Television

Japanese television features rail transportation in various contexts. Examples include travelogues visiting rustic routes or unusual trains, and murder mysteries on the sleeper trains.

[edit] See also

• List of railway companies in Japan
• List of railway electrification systems in Japan
• List of railway lines in Japan
• List of Railway Stations in Japan
• Monorails in Japan
• Shinkansen
• Transportation in Japan

[edit] References

1. ^ "Paying for suicide costs more than the ultimate price", Mainichi Shinbun, 18 August 2002, retrieved 28 October 2006

[edit] External links

• (Japanese) Ekiben site
• Hisakyu's Railway Guide