Hokkaido Railway Company

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Hokkaido Railway Company
北海道旅客鉄道株式会社
Type Corporation
Industry Private railroad
Predecessor(s) Japan National Railways (JNR)
Founded April 1, 1987 (privatization of JNR)
Headquarters Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Area served Hokkaido
Products Kitaca (a rechargeable contactless smart card)
Services Passenger rail
Freight services
Intercity bus
Owner(s) Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (100%)
Employees 7,970 (as of April 1, 2007)
Subsidiaries JR Hokkaido Bus
Website www2.jrhokkaido.co.jp/global/index.html

The Hokkaido Railway Company (北海道旅客鉄道株式会社 Hokkaidō Ryokaku Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha) is one of the constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to using its official abbreviation of JR Hokkaido (JR北海道 Jeiāru Hokkaidō). It operates intercity rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a smart card ticketing system, from autumn 2008.

At the time of its privatization in 1987, JR Hokkaido operated 21 railway lines totalling 3,176.6 kilometres (1,973.8 mi) of track, as well as a ferry service to Aomori. Since then, that number has dwindled to just below 2,500 kilometres (1,600 mi), as unprofitable lines have been shut down or spun off (in the case of the Hokkaidō Chihoku Kōgen Railway). The ferry service has also been replaced by the Seikan Tunnel.

Hokkaido Railway's headquarters are in Chūō-ku, Sapporo.[1]

History

  • April 1, 1987: Upon the privatization of the Japanese National Railways (JNR), the Hokkaido Railway Company was formed
  • October 25, 2008: Kitaca contactless smart card introduced in Sapporo area

Headquarters and branch offices

Headquarters building
  • Headquarters: 1-1-15 Kita-11-jō-Nishi, Chūō-ku, Sapporo
  • Branch offices:
    • Asahikawa branch office: 6-4152-2 Miyashita-dōri, Asahikawa
    • Hakodate branch office: 12-5 Wakamatsu-chō, Hakodate
    • Kushiro branch office: 5-14 Kita-ōdōri, Kushiro

Lines and key stations

KiHa 283 series DMU Super Hokuto
789-1000 series EMU Super Kamui

Trunk lines

  1. ↑ Most trains run between Sapporo and Oshamanbe.

Other lines

Sapporo Station

Under construction

References

  1. ↑ "会社概要." Hokkaido Railway Company. Retrieved on March 27, 2010.

External links

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