, 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. Most ...
(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 ...
. It has its headquarters in
Kita-ku, Osaka
is one of 24 wards of Osaka in Japan.
Incidents and accidents
2021 Osaka building fire
Notable locations
Kita-ku, particularly the Umeda area surrounding Osaka Station, is one of the main commercial centers of Osaka. Kita-ku is also a fi ...
.
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 ...
, is a constituent of the
TOPIX 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. Most ...
constituents of the
Nikkei 225 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 ar ...
and
JR Central. 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 p ...
and
Fukuoka
is the List of Japanese cities by population, 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 ...
stock exchanges until late 2020.
Lines
Shinkansen
*
Hokuriku Shinkansen ( - )
*
San'yō Shinkansen
*
Hakata Minami Line
:: 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 ...
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, line ...
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 ...
and
Fukuoka
is the List of Japanese cities by population, 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 ...
. The Sanyo Shinkansen alone accounts for about 40% of JR-West's passenger revenues. The company also operates
Hakata Minami Line, a short commuter line with Shinkansen trains in
Fukuoka
is the List of Japanese cities by population, 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 ...
.
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 co ...
lines in the
Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto 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 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/
Hanshin Railway (Hankyu bought Hanshin in April 2005),
Keihan Railway,
Kintetsu, and
Nankai Railway. 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
*''
Biwako Line''
::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 parall ...
,
Hokuriku Main Line
*''
Gakkentoshi Line''
::Officially
Katamachi Line
*
Hanwa Line
*
Kansai Airport Line
The is a railway line between Hineno Station and Kansai Airport Station in Japan, operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and owned by Kansai International Airport Co., Ltd. between Rinkū Town and Kansai Airport. It opened on 15 Ju ...
*''
JR Kobe Line''
::Officially Tōkaidō Main Line,
San'yō Main Line
*
Kosei Line
*''
JR Kyoto Line''
::Officially Tōkaidō Main Line
*
Nara Line
*
Osaka Loop Line
*
Osaka Higashi Line
*''
Sagano Line''
::Officially
San'in Main Line
*''Man-yo Mahoroba Line''
::Officially
Sakurai Line
*''
JR Takarazuka Line''
::Officially
Fukuchiyama Line
*
JR Tōzai Line
*''
Yamatoji Line''
::Officially
Kansai Main Line
*
Wakayama Line
*''
JR Yumesaki Line''
::Officially
Sakurajima Line
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
*
Hokuriku Main Line
::Includes ''Biwako Line''.
*
Honshi-Bisan Line, Chayamachi — Kojima
::Nicknamed ''
Seto-Ōhashi Line''
*
Kansai Main Line, Kameyama — JR Namba
::Includes ''Yamatoji Line''.
*
Kisei Main Line, Shingū — Wakayamashi
::Includes ''Kinokuni Line''.
*
San'in Main Line
::Includes ''Sagano Line''.
*
San'yō Main Line, Kobe — Shimonoseki, Hyōgo — Wadamisaki.
::Includes ''JR Kobe Line''.
*
Takayama Main Line, 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 parall ...
, Maibara — Kobe
::Includes ''Biwako Line'', ''JR Kyoto Line'', and ''JR Kobe Line''.
Regional lines
*
Bantan Line
*
Etsumi-Hoku Line
::Nicknamed ''
Kuzuryū 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 is ...
''
*
Fukuen Line
*
Gantoku Line
*
Geibi Line
*
Himi Line
*
Imbi Line
*
Jōhana Line
*
Kabe Line
*
Kakogawa Line
*
Kibi Line
*
Kishin Line
*
Kisuki Line
*
Kure Line
::Includes ''Setouchi Sazanami Line''
*
Kusatsu Line
*
Maizuru Line
*
Mine Line
*
Nanao Line
*
Obama Line
*
Ōito Line, Minami-Otari — Itoigawa
*
Onoda Line
*
Sakai Line
*
Tsuyama Line
*
Ube Line
*
Uno Line
*
Yamaguchi Line
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, 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 acce ...
with
Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd; operates the Isetan department store in
Kyoto Station
* 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
* JR-West Miyajima Ferry Company - operator of
JR Miyajima Ferry service to the island of
Miyajima
History
JR-West was incorporated as a business corporation (
kabushiki kaisha) 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, from the separate Shinkansen Holding Corporation. JR-West purchased the line in October 1991 at a cost of 974.1 billion
JPY
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and th ...
(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 investme ...
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 ...
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 (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,
Osaka Securities Exchange and
Fukuoka Stock Exchange.
Accidents and incidents
;
Shigaraki train disaster: A collision between a JR West and a
Shigaraki Kōgen Railway train in
Shigaraki (now
Koka),
Shiga Prefecture on May 14, 1991, killed 42 people.
;
Amagasaki derailment: 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, ...
on April 25, 2005, killed 107 people.
References
External links
*
{{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