 |
 |
 |
Goods transport by Japanese National Railways fell too far behind in modernization
to cope effectively with increased demand for transport and with an advance
to a higher industrial structure. Confronted with the rapid progress of lorry
transport, JNR was unable to demonstrate its characteristic features of "massive"
and "high-speed" transport. The volume of its goods transport had been stagnant
in growth for a long time and its share in the total volume of transport in
Japan continued to dip.
In addition to such a trend, goods transport by JNR was seriously affected
in fiscal 1973 by a decline in shipment due to the fuel crisis, obstruction
of transport by heavy snowfall, and repeated labor disputes, and registered
a 3.3 per cent decline in tonnage to 176 million tons and a 2.0 per cent decline
in ton-kilometers to 57,400 million ton-kilometers over the previous fiscal
year.
To counteract such situations, JNR endeavored to cast off its transport
system centering around the concentrated transport which was based on conventional
comprehensive station allocation, and to establish a system of direct transport
among base stations which could fully demonstrate the distictive features of
railways. To achieve this objective, JNR has been promoting the increase of
numbers of freightliners, special purpose freight cars, pdevelopment of base
stations, expansions of yards, automation and an increase in the number of container
trains.
The operation of freightliners was commenced in 1969 between Tokyo and Osaka,
and expanded at the end of fiscal 1973 to a nationwide network consisting of
32 routes and 111 trains, accounting for 53.3 per cent of the total volume of
container transport by JNR (which amounted to 12,394,000 tons in fiscal 1973).
Tocopewitheve←increasing consumption of petroleum products, introduction of
the pipe-line transport system is now undenvay. (Fig.
l-(l)-6)
|
|
|