Kyushu Railway Company
Native name | 九州旅客鉄道株式会社 |
---|---|
Public KK | |
Traded as | TYO: 9142 |
Industry | Private railway |
Predecessor | Japanese National Railways (JNR) |
Founded | April 1, 1987 (privatization of JNR) |
Headquarters |
3-25-21 Hakata Ekimae Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan |
Products | SUGOCA (a rechargeable contactless smart card) |
Services |
passenger railways freight services bus transportation Real estate development other related services |
Owner | Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (100%) |
Number of employees | 7,970 (as of April 1, 2008) |
Website | jrkyushu.co.jp/english/index.html |
The Kyushu Railway Company (九州旅客鉄道株式会社 Kyūshū Ryokaku Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha), also referred to as JR Kyushu (JR九州 Jeiāru Kyūshū), is one of the constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services in Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait between Fukuoka and Busan, South Korea. JR Kyushu's headquarters are in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka.[1]
History
When Japanese National Railways was divided in 1987, Kyushu Railway Company inherited its assets and operations on the island of Kyushu along with losses of around 28.8 billion yen, exacerbated by a growing highway network in Kyushu and a large number of lightly-used rural lines. After privatization, JR Kyushu diversified its business into new ventures such as fish and mushroom farming and car sales. Two of its more successful side ventures were the Beetle ferry, started in 1991, and the Trandor bakery chain, started in 1992. JR Kyushu also built up its premium rail services through the development of the Kyushu Shinkansen high-speed rail line and the Seven Stars in Kyushu luxury excursion train.[2]
The company introduced SUGOCA, a smart card ticketing system, from March 1, 2009.
Although JR Kyushu intends to execute an initial public offering in 2016, its train segment remains loss-making as of 2015. Non-railway operations account for roughly 60% of the company's sales and all of its profits.[2]
Lines
Shinkansen line
- Kyushu Shinkansen (Kagoshima Route)
Main lines
- Kagoshima Main Line
- Nagasaki Main Line
- Kyūdai Main Line: Nicknamed Yufu Kōgen Line
- Hōhi Main Line: Nicknamed Aso Kōgen Line
- Nippō Main Line
- Chikuhō Main Line: Divided to three segments with different nicknames, namely Haruda Line, Fukuhoku Yutaka Line, and Wakamatsu Line.
Other lines
- Chikuhi Line
- Fukuhoku Yutaka Line: A nickname for the route formed by portions of Kagoshima Main Line, Chikuhō Main Line, and the whole part of Sasaguri Line.
- Gotōji Line
- Hisatsu Line
- Hitahikosan Line
- Ibusuki Makurazaki Line
- Kashii Line
- Karatsu Line
- Kitto Line
- Misumi Line
- Miyazaki Kūkō Line
- Nichinan Line
- Ōmura Line
- Sasaguri Line
- Sasebo Line
Limited express and tourist train services
- Ariake (Hakata - Kumamoto)
- Aru Ressha (Ōita - Hita)
- Aso Boy (Kumamoto - Miyaji)
- A-Train (Kumamoto - Misumi)
- Hayato no Kaze (Kagoshima-Chūō - Yoshimatsu)
- Huis Ten Bosch (Hakata - Huis Ten Bosch)
- Ibusuki no Tamatebako (Kagoshima-Chūō - Ibusuki)
- Isaburo & Shinpei (Hitoyoshi - Yoshimatsu)
- Kaiō (Hakata - Nōgata)
- Kamome (Hakata - Nagasaki)
- Kirameki (Mojikō - Hakata)
- Kirishima (Miyazaki - Kagoshima-Chūō)
- Kumagawa (Kumamoto - Hitoyoshi)
- Midori (Hakata - Sasebo)
- Nichirin/Nichirin Seagaia (Kokura - Miyazaki Kūkō)
- Seven Stars in Kyushu (Circular tours of Kyushu)
- SL Hitoyoshi (Kumamoto - Hitoyoshi)
- Sonic (Hakata - Ōita)
- Trans-Kyushu Limited Express (Hitoyoshi - Ōita)
- Umisachi-Yamasachi (Miyazaki - Nangō)
- Yufu / Yufu DX/Yufuin-no-mori (Hakata - Ōita)
See also
- Kyūshū Railway - a predecessor of JR Kyushu
References
- ↑ "Corporate Summary." Kyushu Railway Company. Retrieved on March 27, 2010.
- 1 2 Kurimoto, Suguru (26 March 2015). "Japan rail company diversifies its way around disadvantages". Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to JR Kyushu. |
- http://www.jrkyushu.co.jp/ (Japanese)
- http://www.jrkyushu.co.jp/english/ (English)
- http://www.jrbeetle.co.jp/english/ JR Kyushu Jet Ferry (English)
JR Group | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
past: Japanese Government Railways | 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 Hokkaido Bus | JR Bus Tohoku | JR Tokai Bus | West JR Bus | JR Shikoku Bus | JR Kyushu Bus |
JR Bus Kanto | Chugoku JR Bus | |||||
JR Bustech | ||||||
Smart cards | Kitaca | Suica | TOICA | ICOCA | ICOCA (SHIKOKU ICOCA) | SUGOCA |
Others | JR Freight | RTRI | JR Systems | |||
Description companies | JRTT | |||||
See also | Shinkansen - Railway Museum - Modern Transportation Museum - SCMaglev and Railway Park - SoftBank Telecom |