Kyushu Railway Company

The Kyushu Railway Company (九州旅客鉄道株式会社, Kyūshū Ryokaku Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha^?), also referred to as JR Kyushu (JR九州, Jeiāru Kyūshū^?), is one of the constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services in Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait between Fukuoka and Busan, South Korea.

When Japan Railways was divided in 1987, Kyushu Railway Company was in deficit under recession of Japanese steel industry and competition from highways and air flights. Yet the company then diversified its business, especially in developing and commercializing its properties (such as train stations).^[1]

JR Kyushu's headquarters are in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka.^[2]

The company introduced SUGOCA, a smart card ticketing system, from March 1, 2009.

Lines

Shinkansen line

• Kyushu Shinkansen (Kagoshima Route)

Main lines

• Kagoshima Main Line
• Nagasaki Main Line
• Kyūdai Main Line: Nicknamed Yufu Kōgen Line
• Hōhi Main Line: Nicknamed Aso Kōgen Line
• Nippō Main Line
• Chikuhō Main Line: Divided to three segments with different nicknames, namely Haruda Line, Fukuhoku Yutaka Line, and Wakamatsu Line.

Other lines

• Chikuhi Line
• Fukuhoku Yutaka Line: A nickname for the route formed by portions of Kagoshima Main Line, Chikuhō Main Line, and the whole part of Sasaguri Line.
• Gotōji Line
• Hisatsu Line
• Hitahikosan Line
• Ibusuki Makurazaki Line
• Kashii Line
• Karatsu Line
• Kitto Line
• Misumi Line
• Miyazaki Kūkō Line
• Nichinan Line
• Ōmura Line
• Sasaguri Line
• Sasebo Line

Limited express train services

• Ariake (Hakata - Kumamoto)
• Aso Boy (Kumamoto - Miyaji)
• Hayato no Kaze (Kagoshima-Chūō - Yoshimatsu)
• Huis Ten Bosch (Hakata - Huis Ten Bosch)
• Ibusuki no Tamatebako (Kagoshima-Chūō - Ibusuki)
• Kaiō (Hakata - Nōgata)
• Kamome (Hakata - Nagasaki)
• Kirameki (Mojikō - Hakata)
• Kirishima (Miyazaki - Kagoshima-Chūō)
• Kumagawa (Kumamoto - Hitoyoshi)
• Midori (Hakata - Sasebo)
• Nichirin/Nichirin Seagaia (Kokura - Miyazaki Kūkō)
• Sonic (Hakata - Ōita)
• Trans-Kyushu Limited Express (Hitoyoshi - Oita)
• Yufu/Yufu DX/Yufuin-no-mori (Hakata - Oita)

See also

• Kyūshū Railway - a predecessor of JR Kyushu

References

External links

Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:JR_Kyushu JR Kyushu] at Wikimedia Commons

• http://www.jrkyushu.co.jp/ (Japanese)
• http://www.jrkyushu.co.jp/english/ (English)
• http://www.jrbeetle.co.jp/english/ JR Kyushu Jet Ferry (English)