A rail transport company is a company active within the rail industry . It can be:
25-540: Keifuku Electric Railroad Co., Ltd. ( 京福電気鉄道株式会社 , Keifuku Denki Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha ) is a railroad company based in Kyoto Prefecture , Japan (but with offices in Fukui Prefecture ) in operation since March 2, 1942. It is a parent company of Keifuku Bus and Kyoto Bus , and an affiliated company of Keihan Electric Railway , which owns 42.89% of the company stock. The company's stock
50-435: A free market , but where there is a socially desirable advantage to transport being available. The use of PSO can be applied to many modes of transport , including air , sea , road or rail . In many cases, the introduction of PSO has been a way to privatize government-owned transport. Infrastructure is often separated from operations, and may be owned by a governing body or a third party. The authority may also maintain
75-589: A portion or all of the seats offered, membership of a common reservation system, quality of service measured by a maximum percentage of cancelled services, etc. Examples of air transport PSOs currently in operation in Europe are routes from Dublin to Kerry and Donegal , routes between the Greek Mainland and the Greek Islands , routes from Italian mainland to Sardinia and Elba , routes between
100-512: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Public service obligation In the context of European Union law, a public service obligation or PSO is an obligation imposed on an organisation by legislation or contract to provide a service of general interest within EU territories. PSOs may operate in any field of public service, but postal services , social services , energy , transport and banking are specific sectors where
125-664: Is a lower risk premium in each bid. This option also makes it easier to create free transfer between operators and modes. Net contracts give the operators an incentive to increase ridership and reduce risk to the auctioneer. Gross contracts tend to have higher administrative costs for the authority administrating the fares. Urban public transport with transit authorities is most commonly operated with gross contracts, while airlines and ferry routes are typically operated on net contracts. Typical uses of PSO include regional airline services in Northern Norway or Ireland , where
150-534: Is a small network of interurban lines classified legally as tramways in Kyoto . The Arashiyama Line ( 嵐山本線 , Arashiyama Honsen ) connects Kyoto's city center (Shijo-Omiya terminal) and scenic Arashiyama area in the western suburb. The Kitano Line ( 北野線 , Kitano Sen ) is from Kitano Hakubaicho Station near Kitano Tenmangū to Katabiranotsuji Station in the midst of Arashiyama (Main) Line. The Eizan Cable ( 叡山ケーブル , Eizan Kēburu ) , officially
175-591: Is to maintain a minimal level of scheduled air service to these communities that otherwise would not be profitable. This came in response to the Airline Deregulation Act , passed in 1978, which gave U.S. airlines almost total freedom to determine which markets to serve domestically and what fares to charge for that service. The program is codified at 49 U.S.C. §§ 41731 – 41748 . The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) subsidizes airlines to serve rural communities across
200-775: Is traded on the second section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange . This railway started service in 1910, operated at that time by Arashiyama Electric Tram Railway ( 嵐山電車軌道 , Arashiyama Densha Kidō ) . It was transferred to the Kyoto-based electric power generation company Kyoto Dento ( 京都電燈 , Kyōto Dentō ) . Later it built the Kitano Line. Formerly the company operated several railway lines in Fukui Prefecture . Some of them are now operated by Echizen Railway . The Eizan Electric Railway also belonged to Keifuku until 1985. The Randen ( 嵐電 , Randen )
225-603: The Cable Line ( 鋼索線 , Kōsaku-sen ) , is a funicular line in Sakyo-ku , Kyoto. The Eizan Ropeway ( 叡山ロープウェイ , Eizan Rōpuwei ) ( Ja ) is an aerial tramway in Sakyo-ku , Kyoto. The line length is 0.5 km (0.31 mi). The cable and ropeway lines are for visitors to Mount Hiei on the northeastern edge of the city, together with Eizan Electric Railway 's Eizan Main Line . The Arashiyama Tram opened
250-688: The French mainland and Corsica , certain domestic routes within Sweden and Finland , and routes to the Scottish Highlands and Islands . International routes are usually not supported by PSO. This is because of a political principle that people should pay for international travel themselves, not through tax money. This is especially evident in Scandinavia where there is very little international air traffic between cities other than through
275-485: The European Union and be open to any transport operator registered in an EU member state. There are limitations in the number of passengers which can be carried where the route can remain eligible for PSO. The winning tenderer usually receives a monopoly on the route, but may have to conform to one or more conditions of service, such as the type and size of vehicle, the timing of services, the maximum fare paid for
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#1732764851282300-586: The Japanese Misplaced Pages Railroad company In some jurisdictions such as the United States , railway companies may combine these roles. Railway companies can be private or public . In Europe, the EU requires its members to separate the national railway infrastructure managers from railway undertakings which are public and private companies providing services by operating rolling stock . This ensures conditions enabling
325-497: The airlines serve low-population areas not profitable for the carriers without subsidies. Rail services can be unprofitable even on major routes, and government subsidies are sometimes offered through PSO. This has been very popular in Germany . Most cities subsidize their public transport , and in places where the transport is provided by private companies, that may be awarded through PSO. Other common PSO services are ferries, such as
350-566: The capitals, where connections are commercially profitable. There are exceptions, like the Stockholm - Narvik night trains. The term is also used in relation to electricity generation, such as wind power and biomass powerplants. The Essential Air Service (EAS) is a U.S. government public service obligation style program enacted to guarantee that small communities in the United States , which, prior to deregulation, were served by certificated airlines , maintained commercial service. Its aim
375-495: The concept is relevant. In EU transport law, a PSO is an arrangement by which a governing body or other authority offers subsidies in an auction , whereby the winning company will be obliged to operate a specified service of public transport for a specified period of time in return for the subsidy. This usually leads to the winning bidder having a monopoly on the route, as competing services would not be viable without subsidies. PSOs are aimed at routes which are unprofitable in
400-551: The country that otherwise would not receive any scheduled air service. As of November 1, 2013 , the Essential Air Service subsidized 160 communities, of which 43 were in Alaska, whose guidelines for service are distinct from the rest of the country. The decision as to what degree of subsidized service a community requires is made based on identifying a specific hub for the community and from there determining
425-606: The country, for instance the Russian Railways (the world's largest rail company by network size). Other countries have many different, sometimes competing, railway companies that operate each their own lines, particularly in the United States and Canada . Countries may have both public and private railway companies, for instance the United States, where the publicly-owned Amtrak exists alongside numerous private operators. This rail-transport related article
450-423: The latter companies to compete fairly among each other, with multiple companies bidding for the privilege to operate the line for a limited time period under public service obligation aided by railway subsidies or under franchising . In addition, other companies offer trackside and rolling stock maintenance. Some countries have in turn a national railway company that owns all track and operates all trains in
475-420: The latter the operator bids for the full operating costs, and all revenue goes to the authority; with net contracts the operator will be granted all revenue, and will bid only for the difference between fare revenue and that needed to make the desired profit. The use of gross contracts reduces the risk of the operator since they do not need to estimate the ridership and will normally result in lower bids since there
500-477: The line in 1910, with 1,435 mm ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ) gauge and electrified at 600 V DC. The Kyoto Electric Light Company acquired the line in 1918, and double-tracked the track between 1925 and 1928. Keifuku acquired the line in 1942. The Kyoto Electric Light Company opened the line between 1925 and 1926, and double-tracked the Tokiwa to Narutaki section in 1930. Plans to double-track
525-401: The lowest bidding operator to carry out services. The authority issuing the auction may be a ministry of transport , county , province , state , municipality or other regional or local authority, or it can be a transit authority or other ad-hoc organization responsible for some form of transport in an area. To put sérvices out to tender, an authority must have an interest in subsidizing
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#1732764851282550-406: The ownership of the vehicles, such as ferries or rolling stock . Traditionally, public transport has been operated by a company wholly-owned by the state with a monopoly, like a national railway company. Alternatively, private companies were granted privileges (with or without subsidies) granting them a monopoly. In recent years, many markets have been deregulated, especially in Europe, by paying
575-567: The rest of the line were abandoned as a result of the economic depression. Keifuku acquired the line in 1942. "Keifuku" is composed of two characters "京" and "福", the former denoting Kyoto and the latter Fukui. As the Kyoto Dento lines used to be in Fukui, the hydraulic source, and in Kyoto, the company took the name "Keifuku". This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in
600-646: The routes to Gotland in Sweden, or car ferries along Norway's road network. Ferry routes serving outlying islands in Hong Kong are also subsidised, as a result of rising oil price and therefore the cost of operation. In the European Union , route PSOs are governed by Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 and Council Regulation (EEC) 3577/92. They must be offered for tender in the Official Journal of
625-416: The transport. It must also have the authority to prevent other interests from operating competing services on parts of or all of the system. The auctioneer will specify a number of terms of the service, such as frequency , size of vehicle, timing of services, the maximum permitted fare , and/or other specifications related to service and quality. The auctioneer can specify either a net or gross contract. In
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