West Japan Railway Company
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, also referred to as , is one of the
Japan Railways Group The Japan Railways Group, more commonly known as the or simply JR, consists of seven for-profit stock companies that took over most of the assets and operations of the government-owned Japanese National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987. Mo ...
(JR Group) companies and operates in western
Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...
. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the
Tokyo Stock Exchange The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. It is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies, and the largest in Asia. It had 2,292 listed co ...
, is a constituent of the
TOPIX , commonly known as TOPIX, along with the Nikkei 225, is an important stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Japan, tracking all domestic companies of the exchange's Prime market division. It is calculated and published by the ...
Large70 index, and is also one of only three
Japan Railways Group The Japan Railways Group, more commonly known as the or simply JR, consists of seven for-profit stock companies that took over most of the assets and operations of the government-owned Japanese National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987. Mo ...
constituents of the
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index: the others are
JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...
and
JR Central is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and in Japanese as JR Tōkai ( ja, JR東海, links=no). ''Tōkai'' is a reference to the geographical ...
. It was also listed in the
Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...
and
Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...
stock exchanges until late 2020.


Lines


Shinkansen

*
Hokuriku Shinkansen The is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), connecting Tokyo with in the Hokuriku region of Japan. The first section, between and in Nagano Pr ...
( - ) *
San'yō Shinkansen The is a line of the Japanese Shinkansen high-speed rail network, connecting Shin-Osaka in Osaka with Hakata Station in Fukuoka, the two largest cities in western Japan. Operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West), it is a westward cont ...
*
Hakata Minami Line The is an long railway line in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, connecting Hakata Station in Fukuoka with Hakata-Minami Station in Kasuga. It is operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Service Although the line uses Shinkansen equip ...
:: Officially not a
Shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond l ...
JR-West's highest-grossing line is the Sanyo Shinkansen
high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...
line between
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
and
Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...
. The Sanyo Shinkansen alone accounts for about 40% of JR-West's passenger revenues. The company also operates
Hakata Minami Line The is an long railway line in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, connecting Hakata Station in Fukuoka with Hakata-Minami Station in Kasuga. It is operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Service Although the line uses Shinkansen equip ...
, a short commuter line with Shinkansen trains in
Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...
.


Urban Network

The "Urban Network" is JR-West's name for its
commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
lines in the
Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto is a metropolitan region in the Kansai region of Japan encompassing the metropolitan areas of the cities of Kyoto in Kyoto Prefecture, Osaka in Osaka Prefecture and Kobe in Hyōgo Prefecture. The entire region has a population () of 19,302,746 ...
metropolitan area. These lines together comprise 610 km of track, have 245 stations and account for about 43% of JR-West's passenger revenues. Urban Network stations are equipped to handle
ICOCA The card is a rechargeable contactless smart card used on the JR West rail network in Japan. The card was launched on November 1, 2003 for usage on the Urban Network, which encompasses the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe (Keihanshin). It ...
fare cards. Train control on these lines is highly automated, and during peak hours trains run as often as every two minutes. JR-West's Urban Network competes with a number of private commuter rail operators around Osaka, the "Big 4" being
Hankyu Railway , trading as , is a Japanese private railway company that provides commuter and interurban service to the northern Kansai region and is one of the flagship properties of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., in turn part of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group ...
/
Hanshin Railway is a Japanese private railway company of Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group that links Osaka and Kobe. It also owns the Hanshin Tigers baseball team. The first character for Kobe (神戸) and the second character for Osaka (大阪) combine to form th ...
(Hankyu bought Hanshin in April 2005),
Keihan Railway , known colloquially as the , , or simply , is a major Japanese private railway operator in Osaka, Kyoto, and Shiga Prefectures. The transit network includes seven lines; four main lines with heavy rolling stock, two interurban lines, and a funic ...
,
Kintetsu ''Kintetsu'' is the abbreviation of , or Kintetsu Railway, a Japanese railway corporation. It may also refer to: Companies * Kintetsu Group Holdings, the holding corporation of the Kintetsu Railway ** Kintetsu Bus, a bus company and a subsidiary ...
, and
Nankai Railway is a private railway in Japan, founded in 1884. The name ''Nankai'' (which means "South Sea") comes from the company's routes along the Nankaidō, the old highway that ran south from the old capital, Kyoto, along the sea coast. Nankai predates a ...
. JR-West's market share in the region is roughly equal to that of the Big 4 put together, largely due to its comprehensive network and high-speed commuter trains (Special Rapid Service trains on the Kobe and Kyoto lines operate at up to 130 km/h). Those in ''italics'' are announcement names. *
Akō Line is a railway line owned by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) between Aioi, Hyōgo to Okayama, Okayama in Japan. A loop line off the Sanyō Main Line, the Akō Line commences at Aioi, is situated south of the main line approximately parallel ...
*''
Biwako Line The is the nickname used by the operator of the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) to refer to the portion of the Tōkaidō Main Line (between Maibara Station and Kyoto Station) and the Hokuriku Main Line (between Maibara Station and Nagaham ...
'' ::Officially
Tōkaidō Main Line The is a major Japanese railway line of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) network, connecting and stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities. The high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen largely parallel ...
,
Hokuriku Main Line The Hokuriku Main Line ( ja, 北陸本線, ) is a 176.6 kilometer railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting the Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with the Naoetsu Station in Joetsu, Niigata. The section betwe ...
*''
Gakkentoshi Line The , officially nicknamed the , is a commuter rail line and service in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area of Japan, owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line connects Kizu Station in Kyoto Prefecture and Kyōb ...
'' ::Officially
Katamachi Line The , officially nicknamed the , is a commuter rail line and service in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area of Japan, owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line connects Kizu Station (Kyoto), Kizu Station in Kyoto P ...
*
Hanwa Line The is a commuter rail line in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The 61.3 km (38.1 mi) line runs between Osaka and Wakayama, Wakayama, Wakayama, Japan and has a 1.7 km branchlin ...
* Kansai Airport Line *''
JR Kobe Line The is the nickname of portions of the Tokaido Main Line and the Sanyo Main Line, between Osaka Station in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture and Himeji Station in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture. The line, along with the JR Kyoto Line and the Biwako Line, ...
'' ::Officially Tōkaidō Main Line, San'yō Main Line *
Kosei Line The is a commuter rail line in Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line was completed in 1974 by the former Japanese National Railways (JNR) to provide faster access from the Kansai region t ...
*''
JR Kyoto Line The is a commuter rail line in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The name applies to the section of the Tōkaidō Main Line between Kyōto Station and Ōsaka Station. The Kyot ...
'' ::Officially Tōkaidō Main Line *
Nara Line The is a commuter rail line in the Osaka–Kobe–Kyoto metropolitan area, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Its official termini are Kizu Station in Kizugawa and Kyōto Station in Kyoto, within Kyoto Prefecture; however ...
*
Osaka Loop Line The is a railway loop line in Japan operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It encircles central Osaka. Part of a second, proposed outer loop line, the Osaka Higashi Line, from Hanaten to Kyuhoji was opened on March 15, 2008, an ...
*
Osaka Higashi Line The (Literally: Osaka East Line) is a railway line in Osaka, Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR-West). The line connects Shin-Osaka Station in northern Osaka with Kyūhōji Station in Yao, forming an arc around the norther ...
*''
Sagano Line The is the popular name for a portion of the Sanin Main Line in the suburbs of Kyoto, Japan. The electrified and double-tracked railway is a commuter rail line in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, owned and operated by West Japan Railway ...
'' ::Officially
San'in Main Line The is a railway line in western Japan, which connects Kyoto and Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is the major railway line of the San'in region, approximately paralleling the Japan Sea, crossing Kyot ...
*''Man-yo Mahoroba Line'' ::Officially
Sakurai Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in Nara Prefecture. It connects Nara on the Yamatoji Line to Takada on the Wakayama Line, with some services continuing on the Wakayama Line to Ōji Station, and then to JR ...
*''
JR Takarazuka Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting Osaka and Fukuchiyama, Japan. Within JR West's "Urban Network" covering the Osaka–Kobe–Kyoto metropolitan region, the line from Osaka to Sasayamaguchi is also ...
'' ::Officially Fukuchiyama Line *
JR Tōzai Line is one of several commuter rail lines and services in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line, whose name literally means "east-west", runs underground through central Osaka and conne ...
*''
Yamatoji Line The is the common name of the western portion of the Kansai Main Line. The line is owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West), and starts at Kamo Station in Kyoto Prefecture and ends at JR Namba Station in Naniwa-ku, Osaka. Op ...
'' ::Officially
Kansai Main Line The is a railway line in Japan, which connects Nagoya Station with JR Namba Station in Osaka. It is jointly run by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), with the boundary between both comp ...
*
Wakayama Line The is a railway line that links Nara Prefecture to Wakayama Prefecture in Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It connects Ōji Station on the Yamatoji Line to Wakayama Station on the Hanwa Line and Kisei Main Line, with t ...
*''
JR Yumesaki Line The is a railway line in Osaka, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting Nishikujō Station to Sakurajima Station. It is also referred to as the . The entire line is within Konohana-ku, Osaka, and connects the Osaka L ...
'' ::Officially
Sakurajima Line The is a railway line in Osaka, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting Nishikujō Station to Sakurajima Station. It is also referred to as the . The entire line is within Konohana-ku, Osaka, and connects the Osaka L ...


Intercity and regional lines

A number of other lines account for more than half of JR-West's track mileage. These lines mainly handle business and leisure travel between smaller cities and rural areas in western Japan. They account for about 20% of the company's passenger revenues.


Intercity lines

* Fukuchiyama Line ::Includes ''JR Takarazuka Line''. *
Hakubi Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in the mountainous area of the Chūgoku region of Japan. It begins at the south end of Okayama Prefecture at Kurashiki Station in Kurashiki, passing through Niimi Station o ...
*
Hokuriku Main Line The Hokuriku Main Line ( ja, 北陸本線, ) is a 176.6 kilometer railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting the Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with the Naoetsu Station in Joetsu, Niigata. The section betwe ...
::Includes ''Biwako Line''. * Honshi-Bisan Line, Chayamachi — Kojima ::Nicknamed ''
Seto-Ōhashi Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku) in Japan which links Okayama Station in Okayama Prefecture with Takamatsu Station in Kagawa Prefectu ...
'' *
Kansai Main Line The is a railway line in Japan, which connects Nagoya Station with JR Namba Station in Osaka. It is jointly run by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), with the boundary between both comp ...
, Kameyama — JR Namba ::Includes ''Yamatoji Line''. *
Kisei Main Line The is a railway line that parallels the coastline of the Kii Peninsula in Japan between Mie Prefecture and Wakayama Prefecture. The name takes the ''kanji'' characters from the names of the old provinces of and . The line is operated by Ce ...
, Shingū — Wakayamashi ::Includes ''Kinokuni Line''. *
San'in Main Line The is a railway line in western Japan, which connects Kyoto and Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is the major railway line of the San'in region, approximately paralleling the Japan Sea, crossing Kyot ...
::Includes ''Sagano Line''. * San'yō Main Line, Kobe — Shimonoseki, Hyōgo — Wadamisaki. ::Includes ''JR Kobe Line''. *
Takayama Main Line The is a Japanese railway line between Gifu Station in Gifu and Toyama Station in Toyama, operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line directly links the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area ( ...
, Inotani — Toyama *
Tōkaidō Main Line The is a major Japanese railway line of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) network, connecting and stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities. The high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen largely parallel ...
, Maibara — Kobe ::Includes ''Biwako Line'', ''JR Kyoto Line'', and ''JR Kobe Line''.


Regional lines

*
Bantan Line The is a railway line that connects Himeji and Wadayama station in Asago City, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The line is operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and serves as a connector between the Sanyo Main Line and the Sanin Main ...
*
Etsumi-Hoku Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The line extends 52.5 km (32.6 mi) from Echizen-Hanandō Station in Fukui to Kuzuryūko Station in Ōno with a total of 22 stations. It ...
::Nicknamed '' Kuzuryū Line'' *
Fukuen Line The is a railway line in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It connects Fukuyama Station in Fukuyama to Miyoshi Station in Miyoshi. Stations Former connecting lines * Sankō Line (closed 1 ...
*
Gantoku Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in western Japan, connecting Iwakuni Station in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, and Kushigahama Station in Shūnan, Yamaguchi. The line was originally built as a more direct route betw ...
*
Geibi Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in the mountainous area of the Chūgoku region in Japan. It begins at Bitchū Kōjiro Station on the west side of Niimi, Okayama Prefecture, connecting through Miyoshi St ...
*
Himi Line The is a 16.5 km (10.3 mi) railway line in Toyama Prefecture, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It connects Takaoka Station in Takaoka with Himi Station in Himi. Service outline Although technically different li ...
*
Imbi Line The is a railway line operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) between Tottori, Tottori Prefecture and Tsuyama, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Route data *Operating Company: **West Japan Railway Company (Services and tracks) *Dist ...
*
Jōhana Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. It connects Takaoka with Johana. Route data *Operating Company: West Japan Railway Company (Services and tracks) *Distance: *Track gauge: ...
*
Kabe Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) within the city of Hiroshima in Japan. It connects Hiroshima Station and Aki-Kameyama Station in Asakita-ku. The actual junction station is Yokogawa. It is one of the com ...
*
Kakogawa Line The is a railway line in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West), which connects the cities of Kakogawa and Tamba. The line begins at Kakogawa Station on the JR Kobe Line (Sanyō Main Line) and ends at Ta ...
*
Kibi Line is a railway line in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is also referred to as the . Stations All stations are in Okayama Prefecture. Rolling stock * KiHa 40 series diesel multiple units Fi ...
* Kishin Line *
Kisuki Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line connects in Matsue, Shimane with in Shōbara, Hiroshima. Stations Rolling stock * KiHa 120 series DMUs File:Kiha120-5 Kisuki.JPG, A Kisuki Line Ki ...
*
Kure Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) within Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. It begins at Mihara Station in Mihara and terminates at Kaitaichi Station in Kaita. It is one of the main lines of JR West. The secti ...
::Includes ''Setouchi Sazanami Line'' *
Kusatsu Line The is a railway line in western Japan operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It connects Tsuge on the Kansai Main Line with Kusatsu on the Biwako Line The is the nickname used by the operator of the West Japan Railway Compa ...
*
Maizuru Line The is a railway line in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It connects Ayabe and Higashi-Maizuru, the line beyond there being called the Obama Line connecting to Tsuruga. Stations *Local trains st ...
*
Mine Line The is a railway line owned and operated by the West Japan Railway Company. It connects San'yō-Onoda to Nagato, both in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. History The Sanyo Railway Company opened the Asa to Minami-Omine section in 1905 to haul coa ...
*
Nanao Line The is a railway line in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and the Noto Railway. It runs between Tsubata Station in Tsubata and Anamizu Station in Anamizu. JR West operates the section between Tsu ...
*
Obama Line The is a railway line on the Sea of Japan coast of central Japan. It is operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The long single track railway connects Tsuruga Station on the Hokuriku Main Line in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture and Higas ...
*
Ōito Line The is a railway line in Japan which connects Matsumoto Station in Nagano Prefecture with Itoigawa Station in Niigata Prefecture. There are two operators on the line: East Japan Railway Company (JR East) operates the section north of Minam ...
, Minami-Otari — Itoigawa *
Onoda Line The is a railway line in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line connects Ube-Shinkawa Station in Ube and Onoda Station in San'yō-Onoda. The branch from Suzemeda to Motoyama is part of this l ...
*
Sakai Line is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its keyhole-shaped burial mounds, or kofun, which date from the fifth century and inclu ...
*
Tsuyama Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting and in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Stations All-stations and limited-stop services called operate over the line. In the "Rapid" column in the table below, "O" ...
*
Ube Line The is a railway line in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line connects Shin-Yamaguchi Station in Yamaguchi and Ube Station in Ube. Stations All stations are in Yamaguchi Prefecture. ...
*
Uno Line The is a Japanese railway line which connects Okayama Station in Okayama to Uno Station in Tamano, both in Okayama Prefecture. It is owned and run by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is also referred to as the . Part of the line, ...
*
Yamaguchi Line The is a railway line in western Japan operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line connects Shin-Yamaguchi Station in Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi and Masuda Station in Masuda, Shimane. History The Ogori (now Shin-Yamaguchi) - Yamagu ...
File:JRW Tsuyama express train.jpg, A diesel train on a Tsuyama Line express service


Other businesses

JR-West subsidiaries include the following. * West Japan Railway Hotel Development Company - Owns Hotel Granvia Kyoto, Hotel Granvia Osaka, Hotel Granvia Wakayama, Hotel Granvia Okayama, Hotel Granvia Hiroshima,
Nara Hotel is a five star hotel in Nara, Japan. The hotel is located on the hillside overlooking Nara Park. Opened on October 17, 1909, it is one of the most historic hotels in Japan. It was designed by Tatsuno Kingo who was also the designer of the Bank ...
, Sannomiya Terminal Hotel and Hotel Hopinn Aming * West Japan Railway Isetan - A
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
with Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd; operates the Isetan department store in
Kyoto Station Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...
* West JR Bus Company - Intercity bus operator * Chūgoku JR Bus Company - Intercity bus operator * Japan Railway West Trading Co. * Nippon Travel Agency Co., Ltd *
Sagano Scenic Railway The or Sagano Sightseeing Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of West Japan Railway Company (JR West) that operates the , Sagano Sight-seeing Line, or in Kyoto. The line uses superseded tracks of the Sagano Line (officially a portion of the ...
* JR-West Miyajima Ferry Company - operator of
JR Miyajima Ferry is the ferry route between Miyajimaguchi, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima and Miyajima (Itsukushima). JR Miyajima Ferries are operated by , a wholly owned subsidiary of West Japan Railway Company (JR West). There are three ferries called the ''Miyaji ...
service to the island of
Miyajima may refer to: Places * Miyajima, another name for the Japanese island Itsukushima * Miyajima, Hiroshima, a former town on this island, merged into Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The name derives from a ...


History

JR-West was incorporated as a business corporation (
kabushiki kaisha A or ''kabushiki kaisha'', commonly abbreviated K.K. or KK, is a type of defined under the Companies Act of Japan. The term is often translated as "stock company", "joint-stock company" or "stock corporation". The term ''kabushiki gaisha'' in ...
) on April 1, 1987 as part of the breakup of the state-owned
Japanese National Railways The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pref ...
(JNR). Initially, it was a wholly owned subsidiary of the
JNR Settlement Corporation The , or JNRSC, was a temporary holding company created to distribute the assets of the former Japanese National Railways (JNR) after its privatization in the mid-1980s. On October 22, 1998, the JNRSC was disbanded and placed under the Japan Rail ...
(JNRSC), a special company created to hold the assets of the former JNR while they were shuffled among the new JR companies. For the first four years of its existence, JR-West leased its highest-revenue line, the
Sanyō Shinkansen , stylized as SANYO, is a Japanese electronics company and formerly a member of the ''Fortune'' Global 500 whose headquarters was located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo had over 230 subsidiaries and affiliates, and was founded by ...
, from the separate Shinkansen Holding Corporation. JR-West purchased the line in October 1991 at a cost of 974.1 billion JPY (about US$7.2 billion) in long-term debt. JNRSC sold 68.3% of JR-West in an
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. It is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies, and the largest in Asia. It had 2,292 listed co ...
in October 1996. After JNRSC was dissolved in October 1998, its shares of JR-West were transferred to the government-owned Japan Railway Construction Public Corporation (JRCC), which merged into the
Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
(JRTT) as part of a bureaucratic reform package in October 2003. JRTT offered all of its shares in JR-West to the public in an international IPO in 2004, ending the era of government ownership of JR-West. JR-West is now listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange,
Nagoya Stock Exchange Nagoya Stock Exchange (名古屋証券取引所 ''Nagoya Shōken Torihikijo'', NSE) is a stock trading market in Nagoya, Japan. It is Japan's second largest exchange, behind the Tokyo Stock Exchange. History The Nagoya Stock Exchange (NSE) is t ...
,
Osaka Securities Exchange , renamed from , is the largest derivatives exchange in Japan, in terms of amount of business handled. , the Osaka Securities Exchange had 477 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of $212 billion. The Nikkei 225 Futures, intr ...
and
Fukuoka Stock Exchange Fukuoka Stock Exchange (FSE) is a stock exchange located in Fukuoka, Japan. It operates Q-Board, a special market for new companies. In August 2000, the exchange closed its trading floor and adopted the electronic trading system of Tokyo Stock Ex ...
.


Accidents and incidents

;
Shigaraki train disaster The was a railway accident that occurred in Shigaraki (now Koka), Shiga Prefecture, Japan on May 14, 1991. A Shigaraki Kōgen Railway (SKR) train and a West Japan Railway Company (JR West) train collided head-on, killing 42 people and injuring ...
: A collision between a JR West and a
Shigaraki Kōgen Railway is a Japanese third-sector railway company funded by Shiga Prefecture and the city of Koka. The railway operates the Shigaraki Line, a former JR West line that was transferred to the third sector in 1987. The Shigaraki Line connects Kibukawa ...
train in
Shigaraki is a town located in Kōka District, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. As of 2004, the town has an estimated population of 13,885 and a density of 84.92 persons per km². The total area is 163.5 km². On October 1, 2004, Shigaraki, along with the to ...
(now
Koka KOKA (980 AM) is an AM radio station, paired with an FM relay translator, licensed to Shreveport, Louisiana, and serving the Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area with an Urban contemporary gospel format. The station is currently under own ...
),
Shiga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the nort ...
on May 14, 1991, killed 42 people. ;
Amagasaki derailment The 2005 JR occurred in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, on 25 April 2005 at 09:19 local time (00:19 UTC), just after the local rush hour. It occurred when a seven-car commuter train came off the tracks on West Japan Railway Company's (J ...
: A train derailment in
Amagasaki 270px, Amagasaki Castle 270px, Aerial view of Amagasaki city center 270px, Amagasaki Station is an industrial city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 455,555 in 223812 households, and a population de ...
,
Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...
on April 25, 2005, killed 107 people.


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* {{Authority control Companies based in Osaka Prefecture Railway companies established in 1987 Companies listed on the Osaka Exchange Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Companies listed on the Fukuoka Stock Exchange Japanese companies established in 1987