Hokkaido railway rationalisation

[Esmenfif]

Interested parties may be sad to know that it seems that JR Hokkaido is eliminating service on nearly half of its route miles.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...ays-cant-maintain-half-railways/#.WD4wRWX8GLG

At a news conference at JR Hokkaido’s head office in Sapporo, President Osamu Shimada said the company finds it hard to continue operating 13 money-losing sections of 10 lines on its own.
The 13 sections total 1,237 kilometers (767 miles), about half of the total length of the railways operated by JR Hokkaido.
JR Hokkaido assumes that three of the 13 sections will be scrapped: the 47.6-km section between Hokkaido-Iryodaigaku and Shin-Totsukawa stations on the Sassho Line, the 81.7-km section between Furano and Shintoku stations on the Nemuro Main Line and the 50.1-km section between Fukagawa and Rumoi stations on the Rumoi Main Line.
On each of the three, the average daily number of passengers per kilometer is below 200. JR Hokkaido will consider introducing bus services for users of the sections.
For eight of the other 10 sections where the per-kilometer average daily passenger number is between 200 and below 2,000, including the 183.2-km section between Nayoro and Wakkanai ...

 

[Zerothebrake!]

Wow,
Did the whole system up there last year..first time that I've ever paid the Driver on boarding! Don't think they could run it any cheaper..going back again April to do the new Shinkansen line.

 

[WideRanger]

It's really easy to forget how massive and sparesely populated Hokkaido is. It's really sad, but seems rational.

It's really pretty up there. If only the Japanese were better at promoting it as a tourist destination. It seems that very few go from abroad, unless it is for winter sports.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Wow,
Did the whole system up there last year..first time that I've ever paid the Driver on boarding!

There were bits of DB where you supposedly[1] did that, but I think they've mostly if not all got TVMs now.

[1] You didn't actually pay him, he just noted who you were in case the inspectors boarded and you most likely got a free ride - though the driver's desks in the vaguely-Pacer-like DEMUs did have a slot for a change dispenser it was never used that I know of. Fail to do this and (at the time) it'd have been DM60 on top of the fare.

 

[Flying_Turtle]

But in Winter, and you do have WINTER there, people will get isolated. It is a false savings scheme!

 

[WideRanger]

But in Winter, and you do have WINTER there, people will get isolated. It is a false savings scheme!

I think this is why JR Hokkaido is offering the local Government to financially support many of the services.

While the various JR companies are arguably still semi-nationalised, it is clear that they are trying to get on to a commercial footing. JR Kyushu has just had an IPO, and this seems to be the way they are all going.

 

[Flying_Turtle]

I believe JR Hokkaido has never been profitable. If they want that just keep the Sapporo suburbs, one if the Sapporo - Shin Hakodate lines (ok... they can also keep the bit to Hakodate) and the Shinkansen line, together with the freight line to the Seikan tunnel... easy!)