Number of passengers carried via railway transportation in Japan FY 2012-2021

In the fiscal year 2021, the number of passengers carried via railway transportation in Japan amounted to approximately 18.81 billion, increasing from around 17.67 billion in the previous year. Railroad transportation is Japan’s major mass transit system encompassing local systems from trams to high-speed railway lines for long-distance travel, called Shinkansen or bullet trains. As rolling stock carries the most passengers and realizes the highest traffic, the railway is arguably the most important means of public transportation on the archipelago.

The landscape of Japanese railway operators

Among the 211 domestic railway operators, the Japan Railways (JR) Group companies originating from the state-owned Japan National Railway (JNR) are the largest. JNR evolved via breakup and privatization into six regional JR passenger companies and several other entities. Although four of the six passenger JR companies have undergone complete privatization, they are still regarded as a group distinct from public operators and private railways, which transport more passengers than JR.

Competing with airlines: the Shinkansen

The sophistication of the domestic railway network enables it to compete with other domestic transportation industries, such as aviation. Both airlines and Shinkansen promise swift long-distance travel. With around 195 million passengers in 2021, Shinkansen passengers exceeded the total of passengers carried on domestic flights. Since railway transportation slightly recovered from its 2020 slump, the passenger distance of the Shinkansen again surpassed that of domestic flights. Comparisons suggest that the Shinkansen have an advantage over airlines as long as their travel time is somewhat equal to or below the overall travel time needed with a respective flight, despite the competitive pricing by airlines.