The Kyushu Railway Company[2], also referred to as JR Kyushu (JR九州, Jeiāru Kyūshū), is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait between Fukuoka and Busan, South Korea. It also operates hotels, restaurants, and drugstores across its service region.[3][4] JR Kyushu's headquarters are in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka.[5]
.svg){kind=logo} | |
 JR Kyushu headquarters (7th floor) near Hakata Station | |
Native name | 九州旅客鉄道株式会社 |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Kyūshū Ryokaku Tetsudō Kabushiki gaisha lit. "Kyushu Passenger Railway Share Company" |
| Company type | Public KK |
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Predecessor | Japanese National Railways (JNR) |
| Founded | April 1, 1987 (privatization of JNR) |
| Headquarters | , Japan |
| Products | SUGOCA (a rechargeable contactless smart card) |
| Services | passenger railways freight services bus transportation Real estate development other related services |
| Owner | JRTT (1987–2016) Public float (2016–present)[a] |
Number of employees | 9,060 (as of 1 April 2016) |
| Website | jrkyushu.co.jp/english/index.html |
| Kyushu Railway Company | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
 Kyushu Shinkansen 800 series Tsubame | |||||
| Operation | |||||
| National railway | Japan Railways Group | ||||
| Infrastructure company | Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency | ||||
| Statistics | |||||
| Ridership | 331 million[1] | ||||
| Passenger km | 9.191 billion per year[1] | ||||
| System length | |||||
| Total | 2,273.0 km (1,412.4 mi) [1] | ||||
| Double track | 772.8 km (480.2 mi) (34%) [1] | ||||
| Electrified | 1,341.1 km (833.3 mi) (59%) [1] | ||||
| High-speed | 288.9 km (179.5 mi) (12.7%) [1] | ||||
| Track gauge | |||||
| Main | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | ||||
| High-speed | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | ||||
| Electrification | |||||
| Main | 1,500 V DC overhead catenary 1,341.1 km (833.3 mi) | ||||
| 25 kV AC 60 Hz overhead | 288.9 km (179.5 mi) Kyushu Shinkansen | ||||
| Features | |||||
| No. stations | 567[1] | ||||
| |||||
History
editWhen 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 many 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 Train d'or 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.[6]
The company introduced SUGOCA, a smart card ticketing system, from 1 March 2009.
JR Kyushu executed its initial public offering in October 2016.[3] Non-railway operations account for roughly 60% of the company's sales and most of its profits.[6]
Lines
editShinkansen line
edit- Kyushu Shinkansen (Hakata - Kagoshima-Chūō)
- Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen (Takeo-Onsen - Nagasaki) ("Nagasaki Shinkansen")
Main lines
edit
- Kagoshima Main Line
- Nagasaki Main Line
- Nippō Main Line
- Chikuhō Main Line: Divided to three segments with different nicknames, namely Haruda Line, Hukuhoku Yutaka Line, and Wakamatsu Line.
- Kyūdai Main Line: Nicknamed Yufu Kōgen Line
- Hōhi Main Line: Nicknamed Aso Kōgen Line
Other lines
edit- 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
- Hitahikosan Line
- Kashii Line
- Hisatsu Line
- Karatsu Line
- Kitto Line
- Misumi Line
- Miyazaki Kūkō Line
- Nichinan Line
- Ōmura Line
- Sasaguri Line
- Sasebo Line
- Ibusuki Makurazaki Line
Limited express and tourist train services
edit
- Ariake (Hakata - Kumamoto)
- Aru Ressha (Ōita - Hita April to June)(Sasebo - Nagasaki July to September)
- 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)
- Kasasagi (Hakata - Hizen-Kashima)
- Kawasemi Yamasemi (Kumamoto - Hitoyoshi)
- Kirameki (Mojikō - Hakata)
- Kirishima (Miyazaki - Kagoshima-Chūō)
- Kumagawa (Kumamoto - Hitoyoshi)
- Midori (Hakata - Sasebo)
- Nichirin/Nichirin Seagaia (Kokura - Miyazaki Kūkō)
- Relay Kamome (Hakata - Takeo-Onsen)
- Seven Stars in Kyushu (Circular tours of Kyushu)
- SL Hitoyoshi (Kumamoto - Hitoyoshi/Kumamoto - Tosu)
- Sonic (Hakata - Ōita)
- Trans-Kyushu Limited Express (Hitoyoshi - Ōita)
- Umisachi-Yamasachi (Miyazaki - Nangō)
- Yufu / Yufu DX/Yufuin-no-mori (Hakata - Ōita)
See also
edit- Kyūshū Railway - a predecessor of JR Kyushu
Notes
edit- ^ Largest shareholders:
Morgan Stanley investment accounts(5.55%)
TMTBJ investment trusts (4.80%)
J.P. Morgan investment accounts (3.39%)
SSBTC TREATY 505234 (2.84%)
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "Fact Sheets 2017" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
- ^ 九州旅客鉄道株式会社, Kyūshū Ryokaku Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha
- ^ a b Cooper, Chris; Matsuda, Kiyotaka (16 October 2016). "JR Kyushu Prices IPO at Top End of Range to Raise $4 Billion". bloomberg.com. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
- ^ "Company Overview of JR Kyushu Drug Eleven Co., Ltd". bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
- ^ "Corporate Summary Archived 2009-12-09 at the Wayback Machine." Kyushu Railway Company. Retrieved on March 27, 2010.
- ^ a b Kurimoto, Suguru (26 March 2015). "Japan rail company diversifies its way around disadvantages". Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved 27 March 2015.