B.Report of the briefing on rural railways
in Japan given to the Transport Committee in Tokyo 2004
Introduction
12. On Friday 22 October 2004 at the British Embassy
in Tokyo, the Committee met Professor Mitsuhide Imashiro, Dean
of the Faculty of Business Administration at Daito Bunka University
to discuss rural railways in Japan and the country's "third
sector" railways.
Rural railways in Japan
13. Professor Imashiro explained that around 55%
of rail in Japan can be classed as "rural". However,
this accounts for only 2% of passengers, 0.9% of passenger-km,
1.6% of total revenue and 12.3% of route-km.
14. In the early 1980s, prior to the restructuring
and privatisation of Japan National Railway (JNR), one third of
the organisation's deficit resulted from rural lines. The JNR
Rehabilitation Act 1980 allowed the closure of unprofitable lines
where passenger density fell below 4,000 passenger-km per route-km
per day. This density was not chosen by chance: analysis suggested
it would ensure that all remaining train lines would return a
profit. The government's preference was to replace unprofitable
rail routes with buses, but, if rail services were maintained,
JNR infrastructure and rolling stock were transferred to the new
operating company free of charge. As an illustration of the contrast,
densities in Tokyo can be greater than 100,000 passenger-km per
route-km per day.
15. Under the 1980 Act, the Government paid local
authorities the equivalent of £150,000 per km of railway
closed in their area. The government also subsidised the companies
which ran replacement services by meeting their operating deficits.
However, the policy favoured replacement bus services by meeting
100% of their deficits; only 50% of the deficit was met if a rail
service was maintained outside the national network.
16. Third sector railway companies were established
to run some of the rural lines. These are joint stock companies
in which public sector investment varies between 49-77%. Third
sector companies sometimes used government grants to purchase
new rolling stock and improve infrastructure. Third sector railways
account for broadly a half of Japan's rural railways.
17. In some ways, the third sector rail companies
out-performed JNR: revenue increased while expenditure decreased,
and personnel costs were lower. However, in many cases passenger
numbers continued to fall and local authorities often felt obliged
to provide further aid to assist third sector companies. Third
sector railways were more likely to be successful if they were
located in cities (e.g. the Heisei Chikuho Railway, Amagi Railway
and Aichi Loop-line Railways) or if they offered a short-cut (e.g.
the Ise Railway, Hokuetsu Express and Chizu Express). Third sector
railway companies were often unsuccessful where there was only
a small market for the service.
18. JNR lines totalling 1,800km were transferred
to 38 third sector railway companies. 100km of private sector
lines have also become third sector railway companies. In a small
number of cases, third sector operators use infrastructure owned
by other companies.
19. Rural railways in Japan continue to suffer from
a decrease in passenger numbers of around 3% per annum, and inadequate
management. The density of traffic on many lines has fallen below
2,000 passenger-km per route-km per day. Safety standards and
modernisation programmes are generally lower than on main lines,
and retention of technical staff is difficult. Professor Imashiro
attributed these difficulties to increased car ownership, a decline
in rural population, deflation and the subsidy policy of both
central and local government, which favoured buses over rail by
supporting rail debts for only a limited period. Nevertheless,
bus substitution usually resulted in a decrease in the number
of passengers to around 50-66% of those who had previously used
the rail service, and it was not viable in all areas because of
snow.
20. Professor Imashiro noted that dual use vehicles
had been deployed successfully in some parts of Japan. Some attempts
had also been made to make stations a focus for the local community,
by co-locating libraries and spas. Taxi sharing had also been
encouraged in some areas. The effects of rural rail closures on
rural areas of Japan had included depopulation and a reduction
in the number of high school pupils remaining in rural areas.
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