Third-sector Railroads

[scott]

third-sector lines

 

What are those?  <----ignorant

 

The other question I forgot to ask was--at what point does service switch from JR East to JR Hokkaido? Is there a place where JR East service ends and you change trains, or does JR East also serve some cities on Hokkaido?

[bill937ca]

third-sector lines

 

What are those?  <----ignorant

 

The other question I forgot to ask was--at what point does service switch from JR East to JR Hokkaido? Is there a place where JR East service ends and you change trains, or does JR East also serve some cities on Hokkaido?

 

There are three categories of railways in Japan:

 

1, JR which is the national railway, including all seven JR companies. To the public JR appears as one company.

 

2. Private railways which usually are privately owned, but also including Tokyo Metro which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange but still owned by the Tokyo and Japanese governments. There are 16 major private railways and many minor private railways.  Here is the Japanese language web page for the private railway association.

 

http://www.mintetsu.or.jp/index.html

 

3. Third sector railways are joint publicly  and privately financed railways.  Governments in Japan (and Europe, but not the US) can own shares in corporations and do own shares in third sector railways.  Many of the third sector railways are unprofitable lines but still necessary for the health of the community. Children travel to school on railways and trams in Japan and account for much of the traffic on some third sector railways. The government covers capital costs and losses.  Private railways usually operate the lines.  Equipment suppliers may also be investors in some cases.  Many "gadgetbahn" i.e. people movers, monorails, etc. are third sector lines.

 

Examples are the 30" gauge Hokusei line formerly part of Kintetsu and the Manyosen tram line at Takaoka

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sangi_Railway_Hokusei_Line

 

The Japanese language Hokusei line wikipedia is one of the most detailed railway pages you will find.

 

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%89%E5%B2%90%E9%89%84%E9%81%93%E5%8C%97%E5%8B%A2%E7%B7%9A

 

Manyosen

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many%C5%8Dsen

 

Click on the Kanji images on this map to see photos of the stations and surrounding area.

 

http://www.atw.ne.jp/~suwa_h/MANYO/ENSEN.html

[bill937ca]

From Wikipedia:

 

"Another nearly 3,400 km of routes are operated by major private railways and by what are known in Japan as third sector railroads—new companies, financed with private and local government funds—which absorbed some of Japanese National Railways' rural lines. There were twenty-seven private and third-sector companies in 1989."

 

That quote is from this Wikipedia page on the basic structure of JR.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Railways_Group

 

Hokkaido probably had the deepest cuts in the JNR system when JR was formed.

 

More on third sector organizations which are not limited to railways. 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_sector

[bill937ca]

I found a definition of third sector railways in TCRP RPT 52, a US government report on joint use railways.

 

Third Sector

 

"A Japanese institution for railway ownership and operation, but found elsewhere under different names.  A private public partnership formed typically to prevent the discontinuance of former JNR branch railroads by purchase, reorganizing, modernizing and executing operational reforms.  Third Sector railway partners jointly finance and manage a railway line for a common economic or special purpose.  Third sector railways are common practitioners of joint freight and passenger use."

 

Source: Glossary, page 10 (printed) bottom link

 

http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_rpt_52-g.pdf

 

http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_rpt_52-h.pdf

 

http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_rpt_52-l.pdf

[scott]

Wow--thanks, Bill--that's really interesting stuff. Lots of good things to read through there, and it makes all this a lot clearer.

 

Plus "gadgetbahn" is a great word!  :)

[marknewton]

 

3. Third sector railways are joint publicly  and privately financed railways.  Governments in Japan (and Europe, but not the US) can own shares in corporations and do own shares in third sector railways.  Many of the third sector railways are unprofitable lines but still necessary for the health of the community. Children travel to school on railways and trams in Japan and account for much of the traffic on some third sector railways. The government covers capital costs and losses.  Private railways usually operate the lines.  Equipment suppliers may also be investors in some cases.  Many "gadgetbahn" i.e. people movers, monorails, etc. are third sector lines.

 

Examples are the 30" gauge Hokusei line formerly part of Kintetsu and the Manyosen tram line at Takaoka

 

 

Bill, once again you've come up trumps. I didn't realise that either of these lines were now third-sector railways, and they're both lines I'm very interested in. Do you know if the Kintetsu's Utsube line will go the same way?

 

Anyway, they great links you posted, thanks!

 

Mark.

[railzilla]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Japan#Classifications_of_rail_transport_in_Japan

 

 

What i understand is that most Railcompanies are 1st category wregardles JR or Private, the run theirt own trains on their own tracks, 2nd category companies run their train on tracks that belongs to another company e.g. JR Freigth.  Which own svery little tracks by itself and 3rd category companies only built track or let others use its track but do not operate trains by themselves.

[bill937ca]

 

Bill, once again you've come up trumps. I didn't realise that either of these lines were now third-sector railways, and they're both lines I'm very interested in. Do you know if the Kintetsu's Utsube line will go the same way?

 

Anyway, they great links you posted, thanks!

 

Mark.

 

 

The Utsube line is still part of Kintetsu.  What the future holds I do not know. Until it happens we usually hear very little. But traffic is light on these lines.  I guess it depends on how financially healthy Kintetsu stays.