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Encyclopedia > Japan Railways Group
Map showing the approximate areas covered by each company in the JR Group. JR Freight operates nationwide.
Map showing the approximate areas covered by each company in the JR Group. JR Freight operates nationwide.

The Japan Railway Group, more commonly known as JR, is a government-subsidised group of eight private companies that took over most of the assets, operations, and liabilities of the government-owned Japanese National Railways on April 1, 1987. A subsidy is generally a monetary grant given by government in support of an activity regarded as being in the public interest. ... In business and accounting an asset is anything owned which can produce future economic benefit, whether in possession or by right to take possession, by a person or a group acting together, e. ... The word operation can mean any of several things: The method, act, process, or effect of using a device or system. ... In the most general sense, a liability is anything that is a hindrance, or puts individuals at a disadvantage. ... Japanese National Railways (日本国有鉄道 Nippon Kokuyū Tetsudō), abbreviated Kokutetsu (国鉄) or JNR, was the national railway network of Japan from 1872 to 1987. ... April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...


The JR Group lies at the heart of Japan's railway network, operating almost all intercity rail service (including the Shinkansen high-speed rail lines) and a large proportion of commuter rail service. A strong distinction is still made between JR and other private railway companies; for instance, the two are generally denoted differently on maps. 300 (left) and 700 Series Shinkansen at Tokyo Station Shinkansen 500 Series at Kyoto Station, March 2005 The Shinkansen ) is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by Japan Railways. ...

Contents

JR companies

The six passenger operating companies of the JR group are separated by region, but many operate long-distance train service beyond their regional boundaries (the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, for instance, is operated by JR Central but extends to JR East and JR West stations). Freight service belongs to Japan Freight Railway Company or JR Freight which operates all freight network previously owned by JNR. Tokaido Shinkansen route Tōkaidō Shinkansen (東海道新幹線) is the original Shinkansen line that opened in 1964 between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka. ...

In addition, there are a number of non-operating companies, such as research institution JR Soken (JR総研). The Hokkaido Railway Company (北海道旅客鉄道 Hokkaidō Ryokaku Tetsudō) is one of the constituent companies of Japan Railway. ... Yamanote Line, Tokyo JR Yamanote Line train in Tokyo, Japan Above Yurakucho in Tokyo East Japan Railway Company (東日本旅客鉄道 Higashi-Nihon Ryokyaku Tetsudo or JR東日本; JR Higashi-Nihon) (TYO: 9020) is a Japanese private railroad company, the largest passenger railway company in the world and one of the seven JR companies. ... JR Central Towers in Nagoya The Central Japan Railway Company (東海旅客鉄道 JR Tōkai; JR 東海) is the main railway company operating in the Chubu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. ... West Japan Railway Company (西日本旅客鉄道株式会社 Nishi Nihon Ryokaku Tetsudô Kabushiki Gaisha), commonly known as JR-West (JR西日本 JR Nishi Nihon), is one of JR companies in Japan that covers western Honshu. ... The Shikoku Railway Company (四国旅客鉄道 Shikoku Ryokaku Tetsudo) is one of the constituent companies of Japan Railway. ... JR Kyushu Midori Express Train on Sasebo Line The Kyushu Railway Company ) is one of the constituent companies of Japan Railway. ... The Japan Freight Railway or JR Freight (日本貨物鉄道 Nihon Kamotsu Tetsudō) is one of the constituent companies of Japan Railway (JR). ...


Background

The demise of the government-owned system came after charges of serious management inefficiencies, profit losses, and fraud. By the early 1980s, passenger and freight business had declined, and fare increases failed to keep up with higher labor costs.


What remained of the debt-ridden Japanese National Railways after its 1987 breakup was named the Japanese National Railways Settlement Corporation. Its purpose was to dispose of assets not absorbed by the successor companies and to execute other activities relating to the breakup, such as re-employment of former personnel.


The new companies introduced competition, cut their staffing, and made reform efforts. Initial public reaction to these moves was good: the combined passenger travel on the Japan Railways Group passenger companies in 1987 was 204.7 billion passenger-kilometers, up 3.2 % from 1986, while the passenger sector previously had been stagnant since 1975. The growth in passenger transport of private railways in 1987 was 2.6 %, which meant that the Japan Railways Group's rate of increase was above that of the private sector railroads for the first time since 1974. Demand for rail transport improved, although it still accounted for only 28 % of passenger transportation and only 5 % of cargo transportation in 1990. Rail passenger transportation was superior to automobiles in terms of energy efficiency and of speed in long distance transportation. The private sector of a nations economy consists of all that is outside the state. ... In physics and engineering, including mechanical and electrical engineering, energy efficiency is a dimensionless number, with a value between 0 and 1 or with times 100 given in percent. ...


Initially, the companies remained government-owned, but privatisation began for some of the companies in the early 1990s. The six companies had 18,800 kilometers of routes (mostly 1.1-metre track) in use in the late 1980s. About 25 % of the routes were in double-track and multitrack sections, and the rest were single-track. In 1988 about 51 % of the six companies' 1,000 locomotives were diesel, and the rest were electric. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...


Japan Freight Railway Company owns its locomotives (295 diesel and 569 electric locomotives in 1988), rolling stock and stations, but hires track from the six passenger companies. It runs fewer trains on less track than Japanese National Railways freight service did before its demise, but at increased revenues and higher productivity. The Japan Freight Railway or JR Freight (日本貨物鉄道 Nihon Kamotsu Tetsudō) is one of the constituent companies of Japan Railway (JR). ... Rolling Stock banner Rolling Stock was a newspaper of ideas and a chronicle of the 1980s published in Boulder, Colorado by Ed Dorn and Jennifer Dunbar Dorn. ...


The Shinkansen Property Corporation leases Shinkansen railway facilities, including 2,100 kilometers of 1.4-meter gauge highspeed track, to the passenger companies on Honshū. Some of the Shinkansen electric-powered trains operate at speeds up to 240 kilometers per hour. 300 (left) and 700 Series Shinkansen at Tokyo Station Shinkansen 500 Series at Kyoto Station, March 2005 The Shinkansen ) is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by Japan Railways. ...


Another nearly 3,400 kilometers of routes, mostly 1.1-meter gauge, are operated by major private railways and by what are known in Japan as third-sector railroads--new companies, financed with private and local government funds--which absorbed some of Japanese National Railways' rural lines. There were twenty-seven private and third-sector companies in 1989.


See also

Japanese National Railways (日本国有鉄道 Nippon Kokuyū Tetsudō), abbreviated Kokutetsu (国鉄) or JNR, was the national railway network of Japan from 1872 to 1987. ... JR East commuter train on tracks above Yurakucho in Tokyo 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. ... Japan Railway (formerly Japanese National Railways) Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) East Japan Railway Company (JR East) Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku) West Japan Railway Company (JR West) Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight) Big 15 major private railways... A private railroad is a railroad run by a private corporation. ... 300 (left) and 700 Series Shinkansen at Tokyo Station Shinkansen 500 Series at Kyoto Station, March 2005 The Shinkansen ) is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by Japan Railways. ...

External links

Reference


The Country Studies are works published by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress ( USA), freely available for use by researchers. ... The U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1789 by a constitutional convention, sets down the basic framework of American government in its seven articles. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

JR Group
Past: Japanese National Railways | JNR Settlement Corporation
Passenger Railway Companies:   JR Hokkaido   JR East   JR Central   JR West   JR Shikoku   JR Kyushu
JR Bus Companies:   JR Bus Hokkaido   JR Bus Tohoku   JR Tokai Bus   West JR Bus   JR Shikoku Bus   JR Kyushu Bus
      JR Bus Kanto       Chugoku JR Bus
Others:   JR Freight   JR RTRI   JR Systems

  Results from FactBites:
 
Japan Railways - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (731 words)
The Japan Railways Group, more commonly known as JR, is a government-subsidised group of eight private companies that took over most of the assets, operations, and liabilities of the government-owned Japanese National Railways on April 1, 1987.
The JR Group lies at the heart of Japan's railway network, operating almost all intercity rail service (including the Shinkansen high-speed rail lines) and a large proportion of commuter rail service.
The seven passenger operating companies of the JR group are separated by region, but many operate long-distance train service beyond their regional boundaries (the Tokaido Shinkansen, for instance, is operated by JR Central but extends to JR East and JR West stations).
Police system of Japan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2966 words)
Japan's police are an apolitical body under the general supervision of an independent agency, the National Police Agency, and free of direct central government executive control.
After Japan's surrender in 1945, occupation authorities retained the prewar police structure until a new system was implemented and the Diet passed the 1947 Police Law.
These agencies include the Labor Standards Inspection Office of the Ministry of Labor, railroad police of Japan Railways Group, immigration agents of the Ministry of Justice, postal inspectors of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, and revenue inspectors in the Ministry of Finance.
  More results at FactBites »

 

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