A private railway is a railroad run by a private business entity (usually a corporation but not need be), as opposed to a railroad run by a public sector .
11-444: The Kamikōchi Line ( 上高地線 , Kamikōchi-sen ) is a railway line operated by the Japanese private railway operator Alpico Kōtsū in the western suburbs of Matsumoto , Nagano Prefecture . The line connects Matsumoto with Shinshimashima , the transportation gateway to Kamikōchi and the Hida Mountains . All stations on the line are located in the city of Matsumoto, Nagano . As of 1 April 2017, services on
22-914: A joint-stock company , or in Japanese: kabushiki gaisha (lit. stock company), but may be any type of private business entity. Although the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies are also kabushiki gaishas, they are not classified as private railways because of their unique status as the primary successors of the Japanese National Railways (JNR). Voluntary sector railways (semi-public) are additionally not classified as shitetsu due to their origins as rural, money-losing JNR lines that have since been transferred to local possession, in spite of their organizational structures being corporatized. Among private railways in Japan,
33-455: A major strike protesting the breakup (and layoffs of tens of thousands of employees) of JNR in 1985. Though private railways such as industrial railways have existed in Japan they are not deemed shitetsu nor mintetsu in Japanese, as their purpose is not public transit. Tokyo Metro is a member of Japan Private Railway Association but is under special laws and its stock is owned by
44-694: The Japan Private Railway Association [ ja ] categorizes 16 companies as "major" operators. They are often profitable and tend to be less expensive per passenger-kilometer than JR trains that also run less dense regional routes. Private railways corporations in Japan also run and generate profits from a variety of other businesses that depend on the traffic generated through their transit systems: hotels, department stores, supermarkets, resorts, and real estate development and leasing. Japanese railways, whether government run, semi-public, or private business, are subject to
55-618: The Japanese Government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (pending privatization). The Japan Private Railway Association counts Tokyo Metro as one of the 16 major private railways. In the United States , a private railroad is a railroad owned by a company and serves only that company, and does not hold itself out as a "common carrier" (i.e., it does not provide rail transport services for
66-797: The Chikuma Railway ( 筑摩鉄道 ) from Matsumoto to Niimura , electrified at 600 V DC. The line was extended to Shimashima Station [ ja ] (now closed), opening on 26 September 1922. On 27 December 1932, the Chikuma Railway was renamed the Matsumoto Electric Railway ( 松本電気鉄道 ) . The overhead line power supply voltage was increased from 600 V DC to 750 V DC in 1957, and further raised to 1,500 V DC in December 1986. Freight services were discontinued from 1 December 1973. In September 1983, landslides caused by Typhoon Forrest resulted in suspension of services on
77-804: The Japanese government after the Ministry of Defense . The ministry oversees four external agencies including the Japan Coast Guard , the Japan Meteorological Agency and the Japan Tourism Agency . MLIT was established as part of the administrative reforms of January 6, 2001, which merged the Ministry of Transport , the Ministry of Construction , the Hokkaido Development Agency [ ja ] (北海道開発庁 Hokkaidō-kaihatsu-chō ), and
88-483: The general public). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism ( 国土交通省 , Kokudo-kōtsū-shō ) , abbreviated MLIT , is a ministry of the Japanese government . It is responsible for one-third of all the laws and orders in Japan and is the largest Japanese ministry in terms of employees, as well as the second-largest executive agency of
99-680: The line are operated using a fleet of four two-car 3000 series stainless steel electric multiple unit (EMU) trains, which were formerly Keio 3000 series EMUs. Former Tobu 20100 series EMUs of Tobu Railway , are scheduled to replace the 3000 series trains starting in April 2022. With the raising of the overhead power supply voltage to 1,500 V DC in December 1986, the line's fleet was replaced by four two-car former Tokyu 5000 series EMUs. As these trains did not have air-conditioning, they were replaced between 1999 and 2000 by four two-car former Keio 3000 series EMUs. The line opened on 2 October 1921 as
110-456: The line beyond Shinshimashima to Shimashima. This section was formally closed on 31 December 1984. On 1 April 2011, following a merger with local bus operators, the operating company was renamed Alpico Kōtsū. Private railway In Japan , private sector railway ( 私鉄 or 民鉄 , Shitetsu or Mintetsu ) , commonly simply private railway , refers to a public transit railway owned and operated by private sector, almost always organized as
121-753: The regulations enforced by the Railway Bureau [ ja ] of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism . They may join unions such as National Railway Workers' Union and General Federation of Private Railway and Bus Workers' Unions of Japan , but their abilities to call a strike is severely limited by government legislation; there is very little tolerance for railway work stoppage. Employees of private railways may legally strike but its unheard of in Japan. There have only been two notable railroad strikes in Japanese history, both by employees of government run entities (government employees are legally barred from striking): One in 1973, and
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