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The Japan Railways Group, more commonly known as the JR Group (JRグループ, Jeiāru Gurūpu) or simply JR, is a group of railway companies in Japan that underwent division and privatization (see also the article about the reform on the Japanese Wikipedia) of the government-owned Japanese National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987. It consists of six passenger railway companies, one freight railway company, and two non-service companies. Most of the liability of the JNR was assumed by the JNR Settlement Corporation.

The JR Group operates a large proportion of intercity rail service (including the Shinkansen high-speed rail lines) and commuter rail service.

JR Hokkaido, JR Shikoku, and JR Freight (JRF) are governed by the Act for the Passenger Railway Companies and Japan Freight Railway Company [ja]^[1], also known as the JR Companies Act, and are under the control of the public Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (JRTT), while JR East, JR Central, JR West, and JR Kyushu are completely floated in the stock market; in addition, JR East, JR Central and JR West are constituents of the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX 100 indices. Because the railways used to be owned by the government, Japanese people generally make a distinction between JR railways (including former JR lines that are now third sector) and other private railways, and JR railways are almost always denoted differently from other private railways when shown on maps.^[2]

Background

By the 1970s, passenger and freight business had declined, and fare increases had failed to keep up with higher labor costs.^[3]

The JR Group companies were formed out of the privatization of the Japanese National Railways in 1987.^[4]^[5]

Ownership

In 1987, the government of Japan took steps to divide and privatize JNR. While division of operations began in April of that year, privatization was not immediate: initially, the government retained ownership of the companies. Privatization of some of the companies began in the early 1990s. By October 2016, all of the shares of JR East, JR Central, JR West and JR Kyushu had been offered to the market and they are now publicly traded. On the other hand, all of the shares of JR Hokkaido, JR Shikoku and JR Freight are still owned by Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency, an independent administrative institution of the state.

All the JR Group companies operating in the Honshū region are constituents of the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX 100 indexes.

Unternehmen

class=notpageimage|

JR group's main offices and branch offices

Hokkaido East Central
West Shikoku Kyushu

(JR Freight, JRTT, and JR Systems are omitted)

The Japan Railways Group consists of seven operating companies and two other companies that do not provide rail service. The operating companies are organized into six passenger operators and a nationwide freight operator. Unlike some other groups of companies, the JR Group is made up of independent companies, and it does not have group headquarters or a holding company to set the overall business policy.

The six passenger railways of the JR Group are separated by region. Nearly all their services are within the prescribed geographic area. However, some long-distance operations extend beyond the boundaries. The Shirasagi train service between Nagoya and Kanazawa, for instance, uses JR West rolling stock but the segment of track between Nagoya and Maibara is owned by JR Central, whose crew manage the train on that section.

Japan Freight Railway Company operates all freight service on the network previously owned by JNR.

In addition, the group includes two non-operating companies. These are the Railway Technical Research Institute and Railway Information Systems Co., Ltd.

To cover various non-railway business areas, each regional operator in the JR Group has its own group of subsidiary companies with names like "JR East Group" and "JR Shikoku Group."

Business	Logo and color	Unternehmen	Typ	Traded as	Region(s) of operation	Note
Passenger	Grass	Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido)	Kabushiki gaisha	Not listed Owned by JRTT	Hokkaidō	operates Hokkaidō Shinkansen in Hokkaido
	Forest	East Japan Railway Company (JR East)		TYO: 9020 Nikkei 225 component TOPIX Large70 component	Tōhoku, Kantō, Hokuriku, Kōshin'etsu	operates Tōhoku Shinkansen, Yamagata Shinkansen, Akita Shinkansen, Jōetsu Shinkansen and Hokuriku Shinkansen (with JR West)
	Pumpkin	Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central)		TYO: 9022 NAG: 9022 Nikkei 225 component (TYO) TOPIX Core30 component (TYO)	Chūbu (including Tōkai, its Japanese eponym)	operates Tōkaidō Shinkansen in Kantō and Kansai
	Ocean	West Japan Railway Company (JR West)		TYO: 9021 Nikkei 225 component TOPIX Large70 component	Hokuriku, Kansai, Chūgoku, Kyūshū	operates Sanyō Shinkansen in Kansai, Chūgoku and Kyushu and Hokuriku Shinkansen (with JR East) in Hokuriku
	Sky	Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku)		Not listed Owned by JRTT	Shikoku
	Scarlet	Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu)		TYO: 9142 FSE: 9142	Kyūshū	operates Kyūshū Shinkansen in Kyūshū
Freight	Slate	Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight)		Not listed Owned by JRTT	Nationwide
IT-Dienstleistungen	Burgundy	Railway Information Systems Co., Ltd. [ja] (JR Systems)		Not listed Owned by the 7 railway companies above^[6]	Nationwide	develops, operates and manages computer systems, including MARS (ticket reservation system)^[7]
Research & Development	Lavender	Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI)	Kōeki zaidan hōjin [ja]	A non-profit organization funded by the 7 railway companies above^[8]	Nationwide	conducts research and development of railway-related technologies, such as SCMaglev^[9]

Network

JR maintains a nationwide railway network as well as common ticketing rules that it inherited from JNR. Passengers may travel across several JR companies without changing trains and without purchasing separate tickets. However, trains running across the boundaries of JR companies have been reduced.

JR maintains the same ticketing rules based on the JNR rules and has an integrated reservation system known as MARS (jointly developed with Hitachi). Some types of tickets (passes), such as Japan Rail Pass and Seishun 18 Ticket, are issued as "valid for all JR lines" and accepted by all passenger JR companies.

Unions

Various unions represent workers at the different JR Group companies, such as the National Railway Workers' Union, All Japan Construction, Transport and General Workers' Union, Doro-Chiba, and the Japan Confederation of Railway Workers' Unions.

References

^ 旅客鉄道株式会社及び日本貨物鉄道株式会社に関する法律, Ryokaku Tetsudō kabushiki gaisha oyobi Nippon Kamotsu Tetsudō kabushiki gaisha ni kan-suru hōritsu, Act No. 88 of December 4, 1986
^ http://www.jreast.co.jp/renrakuteiki/index.html Archived 2016-04-06 at the Wayback Machine Using Suica Railway Pass, connect from JR to Private Rail/Metro!
^ "The Annual Report of Transport Economy(1975) - Chapter 4 Reconstruction of Japanese National Railways". Ministry of Transport. Retrieved 2003-04-23.
^ Kasai, Yoshiyuki (2021-10-25). Japanese National Railways – Its Break-up and Privatization: How Japan's Passenger Rail Services Became the Envy of the World. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-21397-5.
^ Imashiro, Mitsuhide; Ishikawa, Tatsujiro (2013-12-17). The Privatisation of Japanese National Railways: Railway Management, Market and Policy. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-78093-929-2.
^ "Corporate Overview - JR RAILWAY INFORMATION SYSTEMS CO.,LTD". www.jrs.co.jp. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
^ "Products and Solutions - JR RAILWAY INFORMATION SYSTEMS CO.,LTD". www.jrs.co.jp. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
^ "Railway Technical Research Institute". Railway Technical Research Institute. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
^ "Railway Technical Research Institute". Railway Technical Research Institute. Retrieved 2023-12-05.

This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Country Studies. Federal Research Division. - Japan

External links

Hisakyu's Railway Guide (archived 21 July 2009)
JR's Rule on Passenger Tickets

[1] 旅客鉄道株式会社及び日本貨物鉄道株式会社に関する法律, Ryokaku Tetsudō kabushiki gaisha oyobi Nippon Kamotsu Tetsudō kabushiki gaisha ni kan-suru hōritsu, Act No. 88 of December 4, 1986

[2] ttp://www.jreast.co.jp/renrakuteiki/index.html Archived 2016-04-06 at the Wayback Machine Using Suica Railway Pass, connect from JR to Private Rail/Metro!

[3] "The Annual Report of Transport Economy(1975) - Chapter 4 Reconstruction of Japanese National Railways". Ministry of Transport. Retrieved 2003-04-23.

[4] Kasai, Yoshiyuki (2021-10-25). Japanese National Railways – Its Break-up and Privatization: How Japan's Passenger Rail Services Became the Envy of the World. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-21397-5.

[5] Imashiro, Mitsuhide; Ishikawa, Tatsujiro (2013-12-17). The Privatisation of Japanese National Railways: Railway Management, Market and Policy. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-78093-929-2.

[6] "Corporate Overview - JR RAILWAY INFORMATION SYSTEMS CO.,LTD". www.jrs.co.jp. Retrieved 2023-12-05.

[7] "Products and Solutions - JR RAILWAY INFORMATION SYSTEMS CO.,LTD". www.jrs.co.jp. Retrieved 2023-12-05.

[8] "Railway Technical Research Institute". Railway Technical Research Institute. Retrieved 2023-12-05.

[9] "Railway Technical Research Institute". Railway Technical Research Institute. Retrieved 2023-12-05.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Short description|Group of companies that replaced Japanese National Railways}}
-{{more citations needed|date=February 2016}}
 [[File:JR logo JRgroup.svg|250px|thumb|The logo common throughout the JR group]]
+[[File:JR Rail en.svg|thumb|200px|JR Group service regions]]The '''Japan Railways Group''', more commonly known as the {{nihongo|'''JR Group'''|JRグループ|Jeiāru Gurūpu}} or simply '''JR''', is a group of railway companies in [[Japan]] that underwent division and [[privatization]] (see also the [[:ja:国鉄分割民営化|article]] about the reform on the [[Japanese Wikipedia]]) of the government-owned [[Japanese National Railways]] (JNR) on April 1, 1987. It consists of six [[Passenger rail|passenger railway]] companies, one [[Rail freight transport|freight railway]] company, and two non-service companies. Most of the [[Liability (accounting)|liability]] of the JNR was assumed by the [[JNR Settlement Corporation]].
+The JR Group operates a large proportion of intercity rail service (including the [[Shinkansen]] high-speed rail lines) and commuter rail service.
+'''[[Hokkaido Railway Company|JR Hokkaido]]''', '''[[Shikoku Railway Company|JR Shikoku]]''', and '''[[Japan Freight Railway Company|JR Freight]]''' ('''JRF''') are governed by the {{nihongo foot|{{illm|Act for the Passenger Railway Companies and Japan Freight Railway Company|ja|旅客鉄道株式会社及び日本貨物鉄道株式会社に関する法律}}|旅客鉄道株式会社及び日本貨物鉄道株式会社に関する法律|Ryokaku Tetsudō kabushiki gaisha oyobi Nippon Kamotsu Tetsudō kabushiki gaisha ni kan-suru hōritsu|Act No. 88 of December 4, 1986}}, also known as the ''JR Companies Act'', and are under the control of the public [[Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency]] (JRTT), while '''[[East Japan Railway Company|JR East]]''', '''[[Central Japan Railway Company|JR Central]]''', '''[[West Japan Railway Company|JR West]]''', and '''[[Kyushu Railway Company|JR Kyushu]]''' are [[public float|completely floated in the stock market]]; in addition, JR East, JR Central and JR West are constituents of the [[Nikkei 225]] and [[TOPIX]] 100 indices. Because the railways used to be owned by the government, Japanese people generally make a distinction between JR railways (including former JR lines that are now [[Voluntary sector|third sector]]) and other [[Private railway#Japan|private railways]], and JR railways are almost always denoted differently from other private railways when shown on maps.<ref>http://www.jreast.co.jp/renrakuteiki/index.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406111028/http://www.jreast.co.jp/renrakuteiki/index.html |date=2016-04-06 }} Using Suica Railway Pass, connect from JR to Private Rail/Metro!</ref>
+==Background==
+{{See also|History of rail transport in Japan|Ministry of Railways (Japan)}}
+[[File:021 新幹線 N700 Series Shinkansen high speed train arriving at Kyoto Station, Japan.jpg|thumb|[[Central Japan Railway Company|JR Central]] [[Tōkaidō Shinkansen]] arriving at Kyoto Station]]
+[[File:JR ticket machine.jpg|thumb|JR West ticket machines]]
+[[File:A JR train arriving in station.jpg|thumb|A [[JR West]] [[223 series]] train arriving in [[Osaka station]]]]
+[[File:Railway_transport_volumes_of_Japan.svg|thumb|The [[COVID-19 pandemic in Japan]] abruptly reduced passenger railway ridership in 2020, which has been increasing since 1960.]]
+By the 1970s, passenger and freight business had declined, and fare increases had failed to keep up with higher labor costs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Annual Report of Transport Economy(1975) - Chapter 4 Reconstruction of Japanese National Railways |url=https://www.mlit.go.jp/english/white-paper/unyu-whitepaper/1976/1976020401-12.html |accessdate=2003-04-23 |publisher=[[Ministry of Transport (Japan)|Ministry of Transport]]}}</ref>
+The JR Group companies were formed out of the [[privatization]] of the [[Japanese National Railways]] in 1987.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kasai |first=Yoshiyuki |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v_ZNEAAAQBAJ&dq=JR+was+formed+out+of+the+%5B%5Bprivatization%5D%5D+of+the+%5B%5BJapanese+National+Railways%5D%5D.&pg=PA217 |title=Japanese National Railways – Its Break-up and Privatization: How Japan's Passenger Rail Services Became the Envy of the World |date=2021-10-25 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-21397-5 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Imashiro |first1=Mitsuhide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fq0VAgAAQBAJ&dq=JR+was+formed+out+of+the+%5B%5Bprivatization%5D%5D+of+the+%5B%5BJapanese+National+Railways%5D%5D.&pg=PA21 |title=The Privatisation of Japanese National Railways: Railway Management, Market and Policy |last2=Ishikawa |first2=Tatsujiro |date=2013-12-17 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-1-78093-929-2 |language=en}}</ref>
+==Ownership==
+[[File:Division and privatization of JNR ja.png|thumb|In 1987, the Japanese government divided JNR into 12 legal entities. By October 2016, JR East, JR Central, JR West and JR Kyushu had completed privatization. JR Hokkaido, JR Shikoku and JR Freight are still state-owned. |500x500px]]
+In 1987, the government of Japan took steps to divide and privatize JNR. While division of operations began in April of that year, privatization was not immediate: initially, the government retained ownership of the companies. Privatization of some of the companies began in the early 1990s. By October 2016, all of the shares of JR East, JR Central, JR West and JR Kyushu had been offered to the market and they are now publicly traded. On the other hand, all of the shares of JR Hokkaido, JR Shikoku and JR Freight are still owned by [[Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency]], an [[Independent Administrative Institution|independent administrative institution]] of the state.
+All the JR Group companies operating in the [[Honshū]] region are constituents of the [[Nikkei 225]] and [[TOPIX]] 100 indexes.
+==Companies==
+{{Further|Private railway#Japan}}
 {{Location map+|Japan|float=right|width=350|places=
 {{Location map~	|Japan	|label=	<!--	釧路	-->	|lat_deg=	42	|lat_min=	59	|lat_sec=	26	|lon_deg=	144	|lon_min=	22	|lon_sec=	53	|mark=	Lightgreen pog.svg	|marksize=	5	|position=	bottom	}}
@@ Line 57: / Line 79: @@
 {{Location map~	|Japan	|label=		[[File:JR logo (east).svg|23px]]		|lat_deg=	35	|lat_min=	41	|lat_sec=	20	|lon_deg=	139	|lon_min=	41	|lon_sec=	59	|mark=	Green pog.svg	|marksize=	8	|position=	top	}}
 |caption=JR group's main offices and branch offices<br>
-[[image:Lightgreen pog.svg|8px]]	&nbsp;[[File:JR logo (hokkaido).svg|23px]]	{{Color|#2cb431|Hokkaido}}
+[[Image:Lightgreen pog.svg|8px]]	&nbsp;[[File:JR logo (hokkaido).svg|23px]]	{{Color|#2cb431|Hokkaido}}
-[[image:Green pog.svg|8px]]		&nbsp;[[File:JR logo (east).svg|23px]]	{{Color|green|East}}
+[[Image:Green pog.svg|8px]]		&nbsp;[[File:JR logo (east).svg|23px]]	{{Color|green|East}}
-[[image:Orange pog.svg|8px]]		&nbsp;[[File:JR logo (central).svg|23px]]	{{Color|orange|Central}}	<br>
+[[Image:Orange pog.svg|8px]]		&nbsp;[[File:JR logo (central).svg|23px]]	{{Color|orange|Central}}	<br>
-[[image:Blue pog.svg|8px]]		&nbsp;[[File:JR logo (west).svg|23px]]	{{Color|#0072bc|West}}
+[[Image:Blue pog.svg|8px]]		&nbsp;[[File:JR logo (west).svg|23px]]	{{Color|#0072bc|West}}
-[[image:Turquoise pog.svg|8px]]		&nbsp;[[File:JR logo (shikoku).svg|23px]]	{{Color|#1cadca|Shikoku}}
+[[Image:Turquoise pog.svg|8px]]		&nbsp;[[File:JR logo (shikoku).svg|23px]]	{{Color|#1cadca|Shikoku}}
-[[image:Red pog.svg|8px]]		&nbsp;[[File:JR logo (kyushu).svg|23px]]	{{Color|red|Kyushu}}	<br>
+[[Image:Red pog.svg|8px]]		&nbsp;[[File:JR logo (kyushu).svg|23px]]	{{Color|red|Kyushu}}	<br>
-(JR Freight, JRTT, JR System are omitted)}}
+(JR Freight, JRTT, and JR Systems are omitted)}}
-The '''Japan Railways Group''', more commonly known as the {{nihongo|'''JR Group'''|JRグループ|Jeiāru Gurūpu}} or simply '''JR''', consists of seven <!-- including JR freight --> [[for-profit]] [[kabushiki gaisha|stock companies]] that took over most of the [[asset]]s and [[Operations management|operations]] of the government-owned [[Japanese National Railways]] (JNR) on April 1, 1987. Most of the [[Liability (accounting)|liability]] of the JNR was assumed by the [[JNR Settlement Corporation]].
-The JR Group lies at the heart of Japan's railway network, operating a large proportion of intercity rail service (including the [[Shinkansen]] high-speed rail lines) and commuter rail service.
-'''JR Hokkaido''', '''JR Shikoku''', and '''JR Freight''' ('''JRF''') are governed by the {{nihongo foot|{{illm|Act for the Passenger Railway Companies and Japan Freight Railway Company|ja|旅客鉄道株式会社及び日本貨物鉄道株式会社に関する法律}}|旅客鉄道株式会社及び日本貨物鉄道株式会社に関する法律|Ryokaku Tetsudō kabushiki gaisha oyobi Nippon Kamotsu Tetsudō kabushiki gaisha ni kan-suru hōritsu|Act No. 88 of December 4, 1986}}, also known as the ''JR Companies Act'', and are under the control of the public [[Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency]] (JRTT), while '''JR East''', '''JR Central''', '''JR West''', and '''JR Kyushu''' are [[public float|completely floated in the stock market]]; in addition, JR East, JR Central and JR West are constituents of the [[Nikkei 225]] and [[TOPIX]] 100 indices.  Because the railways used to be owned by the government, Japanese people generally make a distinction between JR railways (including former JR lines that are now [[Voluntary sector|third sector]]) and other [[Private railway#Japan|private railways]], and JR railways are almost always denoted differently from other private railways when shown on maps.<ref>http://www.jreast.co.jp/renrakuteiki/index.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406111028/http://www.jreast.co.jp/renrakuteiki/index.html |date=2016-04-06 }} Using Suica Railway Pass, connect from JR to Private Rail/Metro!</ref>
-==Companies==
-{{Further|Private railway#Japan}}
 The Japan Railways Group consists of seven operating companies and two other companies that do not provide rail service. The operating companies are organized into six passenger operators and a nationwide freight operator. Unlike some other groups of companies, the JR Group is made up of independent companies, and it does not have group headquarters or a [[holding company]] to set the overall business policy.
@@ Line 82: / Line 96: @@
 To cover various non-railway business areas, each regional operator in the JR Group has its own group of subsidiary companies with names like "JR East Group" and "JR Shikoku Group."
-{| class=wikitable
+{| class="wikitable"
 !Business
+!Logo and color
 !Company
+!Type
-!Logo / Symbol color
 ![[Ticker symbol|Traded as]]
 !Region(s) of operation
 !Note
 |-
-|rowspan=6|Passenger
+| rowspan="6" |Passenger
+| style="color:#2cb431" |{{nowrap|[[File:JR logo (hokkaido).svg|40px]]<br />Grass}}
 |{{nowrap|'''[[Hokkaido Railway Company]]'''}} {{nowrap|(JR Hokkaido)}}
+| rowspan="8" |''[[Kabushiki gaisha]]''
-|style="color:#2cb431"|{{nowrap|[[File:JR logo (hokkaido).svg|40px]] Grass}}
 |Not listed
+Owned by JRTT
 |[[Hokkaidō]]
 |operates [[Hokkaidō Shinkansen]] in Hokkaido
 |-
+| style="color:#0c8c11" |{{nowrap|[[File:JR logo (east).svg|40px]]<br />Forest}}
 |{{nowrap|'''[[East Japan Railway Company]]'''}} {{nowrap|(JR East)}}
-|style="color:#0c8c11"|{{nowrap|[[File:JR logo (east).svg|40px]] Forest}}
 |{{plainlist|
 *{{tyo|9020}}
@@ Line 106: / Line 123: @@
 |operates [[Tōhoku Shinkansen]], [[Yamagata Shinkansen]], [[Akita Shinkansen]], [[Jōetsu Shinkansen]] and [[Hokuriku Shinkansen]] (with JR West)
 |-
+| style="color:#ff7000" |{{nowrap|[[File:JR logo (central).svg|40px]]<br />Pumpkin}}
 |{{nowrap|'''[[Central Japan Railway Company]]'''}} {{nowrap|(JR Central)}}
-|style="color:#ff7000"|{{nowrap|[[File:JR logo (central).svg|40px]] Pumpkin}}
 |{{plainlist|
 *{{tyo|9022}}
@@ Line 116: / Line 133: @@
 |operates [[Tōkaidō Shinkansen]] in Kantō and Kansai
 |-
+| style="color:#0072bc" |{{nowrap|[[File:JR logo (west).svg|40px]]<br />Ocean}}
 |{{nowrap|'''[[West Japan Railway Company]]'''}} {{nowrap|(JR West)}}
-|style="color:#0072bc"|{{nowrap|[[File:JR logo (west).svg|40px]] Ocean}}
 |{{plainlist|
 *{{tyo|9021}}
@@ Line 125: / Line 142: @@
 |operates [[Sanyō Shinkansen]] in Kansai, Chūgoku and Kyushu and [[Hokuriku Shinkansen]] (with JR East) in Hokuriku
 |-
+| style="color:#1cadca" |{{nowrap|[[File:JR logo (shikoku).svg|40px]]<br />Sky}}
 |{{nowrap|'''[[Shikoku Railway Company]]'''}} {{nowrap|(JR Shikoku)}}
-|style="color:#1cadca"|{{nowrap|[[File:JR logo (shikoku).svg|40px]] Sky}}
 |Not listed
+Owned by JRTT
 |[[Shikoku]]
 |
 |-
+| style="color:#ff0000" |{{nowrap|[[File:JR logo (kyushu).svg|40px]]<br />Scarlet}}
 |{{nowrap|'''[[Kyushu Railway Company]]'''}} {{nowrap|(JR Kyushu)}}
-|style="color:#ff0000"|{{nowrap|[[File:JR logo (kyushu).svg|40px]] Scarlet}}
 |{{plainlist|
 *{{tyo|9142}}
@@ Line 140: / Line 158: @@
 |-
 |Freight
+| style="color:#2d86bd" |{{nowrap|[[File:JR logo (freight).svg|40px]]<br />Slate}}
 |{{nowrap|'''[[Japan Freight Railway Company]]'''}} {{nowrap|(JR Freight)}}
-|style="color:#2d86bd"|{{nowrap|[[File:JR logo (freight).svg|40px]] Slate}}
 |Not listed
+Owned by JRTT
 |Nationwide
 |
 |-
+|IT Services
-|Research organization
+| style="color:#B3424A" |{{nowrap|[[File:JR logo systems.svg|40px]]<br />Burgundy}}
-|{{nowrap|'''[[Railway Technical Research Institute]]'''}} {{nowrap|(RTRI)}}
+|{{Ill|Railway Information Systems|lt=Railway Information Systems Co., Ltd.|ja|鉄道情報システム}} {{nowrap|(JR Systems)}}
-|style="color:#9932cc"|{{nowrap|[[File:JR logo RTRI.svg|40px]] Lavender}}
 |Not listed
+Owned by the 7 railway companies above<ref>{{Cite web |title=Corporate Overview - JR RAILWAY INFORMATION SYSTEMS CO.,LTD. |url=https://www.jrs.co.jp/english/CorporateOverview/ |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=www.jrs.co.jp}}</ref>
-|
+|Nationwide
-|
+|develops, operates and manages computer systems, including [[MARS (ticket reservation system)]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Products and Solutions - JR RAILWAY INFORMATION SYSTEMS CO.,LTD. |url=https://www.jrs.co.jp/english/Products_and_Solutions/ |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=www.jrs.co.jp}}</ref>
 |-
+|Research & Development
-|IT Services
+| style="color:#9932cc" |{{nowrap|[[File:JR logo RTRI.svg|40px]]<br />Lavender}}
-|{{nowrap|[[Railway Information Systems Co.]]}} {{nowrap|(JR System)}}
+|{{nowrap|'''[[Railway Technical Research Institute]]'''}} {{nowrap|(RTRI)}}
-|style="color:#B3424A"|{{nowrap|[[File:JR logo systems.svg|40px]] Burgundy}}
+|''{{Ill|Kōeki hōjin|lt=Kōeki zaidan hōjin|ja|公益法人}}''
-|Not listed
+|A non-profit organization funded by the 7 railway companies above<ref>{{Cite web |title=Railway Technical Research Institute |url=http://www.rtri.or.jp/eng/ |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=Railway Technical Research Institute |language=en}}</ref>
-|
+|Nationwide
-|
+|conducts research and development of railway-related technologies, such as [[SCMaglev]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Railway Technical Research Institute |url=http://www.rtri.or.jp/eng/ |access-date=2023-12-05 |website=Railway Technical Research Institute |language=en}}</ref>
 |}
 ==Network==
-[[File:JR Rail en.svg|thumb|200px|JR Group service regions]]
 JR maintains a nationwide railway network as well as common ticketing rules that it inherited from JNR. Passengers may travel across several JR companies without changing trains and without purchasing separate tickets. However, trains running across the boundaries of JR companies have been reduced.
 JR maintains the same ticketing rules based on the JNR rules and has an integrated reservation system known as [[MARS (ticket reservation system)|MARS]] (jointly developed with [[Hitachi]]). Some types of tickets (passes), such as [[Japan Rail Pass]] and [[Seishun 18 Ticket]], are issued as "valid for all JR lines" and accepted by all passenger JR companies.
-==Ownership==
-In 1987, the government of Japan took steps to divide and privatize JNR. While division of operations began in April of that year, privatization was not immediate: initially, the government retained ownership of the companies. Privatization of some of the companies began in the early 1990s. By October 2016, all of the shares of JR East, JR Central, JR West and JR Kyushu had been offered to the market and they are now publicly traded. On the other hand, all of the shares of JR Hokkaido, JR Shikoku and JR Freight are still owned by [[Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency]], an [[Independent Administrative Institution|independent administrative institution]] of the state.
-All the JR Group companies operating in the [[Honshū]] region are constituents of the [[Nikkei 225]] and [[TOPIX]] 100 indexes.
-==Background==
-{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2021}}[[File:021 新幹線 N700 Series Shinkansen high speed train arriving at Kyoto Station, Japan.jpg|thumb|[[Central Japan Railway Company|JR Central]] [[Tōkaidō Shinkansen]] arriving at Kyoto Station]]
-[[File:JR ticket machine.jpg|thumb|A Japan Railways ticket machine]]
-[[File:A JR train arriving in station.jpg|thumb|A [[JR West]] [[223 series]] train arriving in [[Osaka station]]]]
-The demise of the government-owned system came after charges of serious management inefficiencies, profit losses, and [[fraud]]. By the 1970s, passenger and freight business had declined, and fare increases had failed to keep up with higher labor costs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mlit.go.jp/english/white-paper/unyu-whitepaper/1976/1976020401-12.html
-|title=The Annual Report of Transport Economy(1975) - Chapter 4 Reconstruction of Japanese National Railways|publisher=[[Ministry of Transport (Japan)|Ministry of Transport]]|accessdate=2003-04-23}}</ref>
-What remained of the debt-ridden Japanese National Railways after its 1987 breakup was named the [[JNR Settlement Corporation|Japanese National Railways Settlement Corporation]]. Its purpose was to dispose of assets and debts not absorbed by the successor companies and to execute other activities relating to the breakup, such as outplacement 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-kilometer]]s, 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|private-sector]] railways 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 conversion efficiency|energy efficiency]] and of speed in long distance transportation.
-The six companies had {{convert|18800|km|mi|abbr=on}} of routes (mostly {{RailGauge|1067mm}} gauge) 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 engine|diesel]], and the rest were electric.
-[[Japan Freight Railway Company]] owns its locomotives (295 diesel and 569 electric locomotives in 1988), [[rolling stock]], stations and [[Intermodal container]], 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 {{nihongo|Shinkansen Property Corporation|新幹線保有機構|Shinkansen Hoyū Kikō}} leased [[Shinkansen]] railway facilities, including {{convert|2100|km|mi|abbr=on}} of {{RailGauge|1435mm}} gauge high-speed track, to the passenger companies on [[Honshū]]. In 1991, the SPC was reorganized into the {{nihongo|Railway Development Fund|鉄道整備基金|Tetsudō Seibi Kikin}} and the three operators bought their lines on 60-year loans.<ref>[[:ja:新幹線#JR発足から現在までの流れ]] as of 2007-07-16T11:18:58</ref> Some of the Shinkansen electric-powered trains operate at speeds up to 300&nbsp;km/h.
-Another nearly {{convert|3400|km|mi|abbr=on}} of routes are operated by major private railways and by what are known in Japan as [[Public–private partnership#Japan|third sector]] railways—new companies, financed with private and local government funds—which often (not always) absorbed some of Japanese National Railways' rural lines. There were twenty-seven private and third-sector companies in 1989.
 ==Unions==
@@ Line 196: / Line 191: @@
 ==See also==
-{{Portal|Companies}}
+{{Portal|Companies|Trains|Japan
+}}
 * [[Rail transport in Japan]]
 * [[List of railway companies in Japan]]
@@ Line 204: / Line 200: @@
 ==References==
 {{Reflist}}
-* {{Country study}} - [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/jptoc.html Japan]
+* {{Country study}} – [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/jptoc.html Japan]
 ==External links==

Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF
National	Japan