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1. Passenger and cargo transport
(1) Passenger transport : steadily increased and competitiveness has been
strengthened.
After JNR's division and privatization, the volume of passenger traffic
steadily increased due to a fares freeze and improved services (Fig.
6).
In the three big metropolitan areas, JR East, JR Tokai, and JR West increased
their passenger traffic volumes by 25.2% between 1986 and 1994, as against 11.1%
by private railway companies for the same period, indicating that these JR companies
have regained competitiveness with their private counterparts.
Moreover, in the distance-zone of 300-750km, the six JR companies account
for as much as 50-70%, showing that the JR passenger companies still remain
competitive in the intermediate-distance, inter-city transport.
(2) Freight transport : the downward trend stopped and this section has
found a means of survival in the long-distance container transportation
After JNR's division and privatization, the volume of freight traffic increased
significantly between 1988 and 1990, stopping the downward trend of its share
to the total freight transport (Fig.
7).
In addition, the freight traffic volume is growing much faster in the distance-zone
of over 500km than in other distance zones, and ･the long-distance container
transportation is maintaining its competitive edge.
2. Business Management
(1) The management status : better as a whole than expected but gaps among
the companies have widened
After JNR's division and privatization, the .balance of ordinary profit
and loss of the seven JR companies as a whole has been in the black. The ordinary
profit was larger than the prediction the government made in February 1987 (Fig.
8).
JAR East,JAR Take, and JAR West continue to run their businesses satisfactorily
in general. The balance of profits and losses of the three companies is in the
black both on the ordinary and operating basis. The companies are paying the
long-term debts and other liabilities carried over from JAR. Note that due to
such interest payments, the ordinary profits are significantly small in relation
to the operating losses (Table
1, Table 2).
On the other hand, JAR Hokkaido, JR Shikoku, and JR Kyushu improved the
balance of operating profit and loss, supported by an increase in transport
demand brought about by the favorable domestic economy. The balances of their
ordinary profits and losses remained in the black between FY1987 and FY1993
(between FY1989 and FY1994 for JR Hokkaido) partly thanks to the management
profit of the Management Stabilization Funds. Despite such improvement in the
balance of operating profit and loss, the managerial situation deteriorated
mainly because of a decrease in the management profit of the fund due to low
interest rates in recent years. In January 1996, the three companies raised
their fares.
JAR Freight recorded ordinary profit until 1992. However, the freight company
experienced ordinary loss for three years in a row from 1993 due to the sluggish
economy in recent years and the effect of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.
(2) Fares : frozen with some exceptions
Except for the fare hike in April 1989 accompanied by the introduction of
the consumption tax, JR's fares had been frozen until JR Hokkaido, JR Shikoku,
and JR Kyushu increased their fares in January 1996
(Fig. 9), although fares of private railways and consumer prices rose during
the same period.
(3) Productivity : significantly increased
The productivity of JR has significantly improved. The ratio of personnel
expenses to the transport revenue has been low, at a 30% level (Fig.
10).
(4) Maintenance of discipline at workplaces
Mainly because the relationship between laborers and managers has been improved,
discipline at the workplaces is well maintained, contributing significantly
to an improvement in services and business performance.
(5) Investment : giving priority to investment for improving cars and managerial
nature ; the share of investment for increasing transport capacity decreased
In FY1987, right after the division and privatization of JNR, the amount
of capital investment decreased in line with the trend of curving investment
just before the reform of the JNR. 'However, the amount of capital investment
has been generally on the rise since FY1988. While the share of investment concerning
"'cars" and that of " investment concerning improvement of managerial nature
to the total investment rose to almost 30% each, the share f,or "developing
transport capacity" plummeted.
(6) Related businesses : the share of related businesses to the total operating
revenues steadily expanding
Both the total revenues from, related, businesses by the JR companies and
their share to the total operating revenues are steadily rising. Notably in
the case of JR Hokkaido, JR Shikoku, and JR Kyushu, the share of related businesses
was 15.3% in FY1995, exceeding the average of all seven JR companies (6.3%)
for the same year.
3. Improvement in services
(1) Responding to the needs of passengers : speeding-up of trains, easing
of congestion, barrier-free facilities, etc.
In response to the needs of passengers, the JR passenger companies are trying
to carry out the following measures :
| ･ | Enhancing of convenience by means of : speeding-up of trains ; Shin-kansen through operation (e.g. inauguration of Yamagata Mini-Shinkansen line) ; smoother connection between Shinkansen and other limited expresses ; easier access to airports ; and increasing the number of trains |
| ･ | Railway management with close relations with the local community through : increasing of the number of local trains in big cities such as Sapporo, Sendai and Fukuoka to cope with a growing number of commuters ; enhancing the convenience of intercity transportation by increasing the number of limited expresses ; and speeding up of local trains, so as to reduce the time it takes to move to and from the surrounding areas, etc. |
| ･ | Improving of facilities such as cars and stations |
| ･ | Better services for aged and handicapped people by :, installing elevators and escalators, equipping cars with rest rooms for people in wheelchairs, and promoting the introduction of seats for the aged and the handicapped. |
More efforts should be made to ease congestion mainly in the Tokyo metropolitan
area because measures to build up transport capacity so far have not led to
radical improvement of the situation. In addition, although the share of stations
equipped with elevators and escalators is on the rise, it is generally below
the level of major private railways.
(2) Coping with the needs of consignors : expanding the share of containers,
etc.
JR Freight is aiming for better service by not only raising the share of
the traffic volume by containers to the total freight traffic volume, but developing
new products such as piggy back services. JR Freight is also making efforts
to build up transport capacity b,y : reducing the transportation time with the
introduction of direct trains by which freight can go directly to their destinations
without transshipment ; and increasing the number of trains.
(3) Maintenance of operational safety ; a decrease in the number of accidents
The number of accidents, the number of accidents per one million kilometers
trains covered, and the number of casualties are on the decrease due to efforts
by the JR companies to secure operational safety.
7. Development of railway technology such as speeding-up of trains
The JR companies and the Railway Technical Research, Institute are actively
developing technology to speed up Shinkansen and other trains on narrow-gauge
lines. Expenses of R&D, which had been curbed during the age of JNR, are on
the 'increase after the division and privatization.
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