Japan by the Japanese/Chapter 23

The first railway thrown open to traffic in Japan was that between Shimbashi and Yokohama, in 1872.

In 1869 the Government had decided to build railways, and a line then contemplated was the railway between Tokyo and Kobe, passing through Kyoto and Osaka as the trunk line, with a branch line starting off from a point in the vicinity of Lake Biwa, connecting to Tsuruga.

The construction of the line was undertaken at once. Thus originated the Tokyo-Yokohama railway on this side of Mount Hakone, and shortly afterwards the Kobe-Osaka line on the other side was opened.

Thanks are due to the far-sighted statesmen of that time for having taken proper and decided steps for the furtherance of industrial enterprises, the result of which we are now fully enjoying, despite the fact that they had to fight against many difficulties. In December of 1872 work was commenced on the line between Kyoto and Osaka.

Beginning with these, the progress of railway enterprise has been steady, and the railway mileage has increased year by year. In 1879 the first private railway company was organized under the name of the Nippon Tetsudo Kwaisha, which is the present Nippon Tetsudo Kwaisha operating 800 odd miles of railways. The construction of this line was started in June, 1880, and a year after, in June, 1881, the line between Uyeno and Kumagaye was opened to traffic.

New railway companies soon began to spring up everywhere in rapid succession, like mushrooms after heavy rain, and existing companies have extended the scope and area of their business.

When it is remembered that some thirty years ago there were only eighteen miles of railway, some idea may be gained as to the marvellous nature of the progress which has been ​made. The total mileage of railways opened for traffic at the present moment is approximately 4,254 miles, an increase of 232 times that of the first railway opened to traffic.

The progress we have made up to the present is shown below:

From the above figures it is seen that the average rate of increase in mileage per year has been about 130 miles for the last thirty years; and in the thirtieth and thirty-first fiscal years 468 and 471 miles of road respectively were opened for traffic.

The date of the opening to traffic of the Tokkaido, Sanyo, Kyushyu, Hokkaido, and other railways which constitute the trunk lines of Japan, is shown in the following table:

Names of Companies.	Sections.		Mileage.	Date of Opening.
			Miles.
Tokkaido …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …		Shimbashi-Kobe	375	July, 1889
Sanyo …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …		Kobe-Shimonoseki	329	September, 1901
Kyushyu …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …		Moji-Yatsushiro (through Torisu)	143	November, 1896
		Torisu-Nagasaki	097	November, 1898
O-u …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …		Ueno-Aomori	455	September, 1891
		Shinagawa-Akabane	013	May, 1885
Shinyetsu …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …		Ueno-Takasaki	063	May, 1884
		Takasaki-Naoyetsu	118	March, 1893
		Naoyetsu-Nuttare	085	September, 1899
Hokkaido Tanko …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …		Muroran-Shibetsu (through Iwamizawa)	181	August, 1900

The above lines in connection with maritime transportation form the railway backbone of Japan, and promote the facilities of communication very considerably.

Under the present system the railways in Japanare subdivided as follows: Government railways and private railways.

Government railways are under the control of the Traffic and ​Construction Bureau, and those of private railway companies are under the supervision of the respective joint-stock railway companies. The total mileage of railways under the control of the Traffic and Construction Bureau is 1,226, and that of the Nippon Railway Company is 860. Next in order of mileage come the Kyushyu, operating 400 miles; the Sanyo, 340 miles; the Tanko, 270 miles.

The smallest railways (under ten miles) are those owned by the Ryugasaki, the Nishinari, the Kanan, and the Sano Railway Companies. Dividing the total mileage owned by private companies by the number of the companies, we obtain an average of ninety-nine miles per company. The following table shows the existing conditions of various companies:

From the above table it is surprising to find how many small railway companies there are in existence.

It is needless to mention that the construction of railways requires an enormous sum of money. The gross capital spent in construction at the close of the thirty-fourth fiscal year aggregated 340,000,000 yen, inclusive of the construction expenses for incomplete lines. Details of this are shown in the following table:

​If we distribute the sum equally among the existing companies, the ratio borne by each company is an average sum of 8,600,000 yen. According to the latest statistics, the number of private companies of all sorts of description in the whole empire amounts to 8,598, and the gross capital invested totals 779,000,000 yen. There are in all only forty odd railway companies in existence, while their total capital aggregates one-third of the whole sum invested in all companies in Japan.

In the Government railways a large portion of the original capital was derived from railway bonds, while a certain portion of the current capital necessary is obtained from the railway revenue. In the case of private companies, almost without exception the capital is formed by the issue of shares, debentures, or even by temporary loans.

The details of the latest source of railway capital for private companies are shown below:

Regarding the capital as 100, the amount raised by shares is 88, by debentures 6, by loans 3, and the remaining 3 from other sources. The average cost of construction per mile up to the end of the thirty-fourth fiscal year was 75,422 yen. The average cost of construction per mile at the close of the thirty-fourth year of various railways is shown and compared in the following table:

​The difference in cost of construction of the various lines is due partly to the difference in the market price of commodities and the wages of labourers, but principally to the nature of the construction executed. So it would not be at all reasonable to compare the construction expenses by merely looking at the figures representing the average cost per mile.

In order to learn the proportion that railway revenue bears to railway expenses and the conditions of its increase, the following table has been prepared from the latest statistics:

The above traffic receipts are subdivided into passenger receipts, goods receipts, and miscellaneous receipts. The ​working expenses are subdivided into maintenance expenses, traction expenses, traffic expenses, and various miscellaneous charges.

From the above figures it is easily seen that there has been a considerable increase in the traffic receipts during these thirty years. In fact, when we compare the traffic receipts, working expenses, and net profits of the thirty-fourth year with those of the sixth year, the former show an increase of eleven, ten, and twelve times respectively. Working out this rate per average operating mile, the following figures are obtained:

The proportion that the profits for the thirty-fourth year bear to the original capital is, on an average, 8.4 per cent. in the Government railways, and 8.2 per cent. in the private railway companies. Its mean value is therefore 8.3 per cent.

Compared with other countries, the Japanese railway profits stand highest of all:

Country.	Year.			Percentage of Profits to Capital.
France …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …	1900			4.21
England …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …	1900			3.41
Germany …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …	${\displaystyle \scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}}$	1900	${\displaystyle \scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,}}$	6.00
		1901

It is very important to see the proportion of working expenses to traffic receipts. In our country the working expenses per 100 yen of traffic receipts are as below:

​From the above figures it is seen that prior to the fifteenth fiscal year the proportion of working expenses to traffic receipts was very much higher than that of late years. When compared with that of the twentieth fiscal year the difference is more marked. The cause of this may be found in the fact that comparatively greater working expenses were required at the start, and, after a gradual diminution of the expenses, a tendency to increase has been shown of late, owing to long-distance travelling and the adoption of the necessary modern improvements to meet the needs of the public.

The progress of railway enterprise having now been sketched, let us investigate how the railways are used by the public at large. In order to do so, it is necessary to examine minutely how the railways at present existing are distributed over the whole country.

In Hokkaido, though it comes next to Honshyu in order of size, the ratio of mileage per square mile is small, being 7.7 miles per 100 square miles of area, and the ratio of mileage per number of inhabitants is very large (40.1 miles per 100,000 inhabitants), as compared with those of others, on account of its being thinly populated.

In Shikoku both of these ratios are very small, on account of its having a limited operating mileage.

The ratios of mileage per square mile in Honshyu and Kyushyu, as compared with those of the other islands, show high figures; and the ratios of mileage per number of inhabitants, though lower than those of Hokkaido, still show a good figure.

In order to derive the utmost benefit out of railway enterprise, it is quite important that the distribution of railways should be suitably arranged all over the country. It is also important that the old railway appliances on existing lines should be gradually replaced by modern improvements to satisfy the needs of the public. The construction stage is now completed, and it is necessary to examine the existing conditions of traffic.

Details of the passenger and goods traffic and receipts therefrom on Government and private lines are given below.

Comparing the figures for the thirty-fourth fiscal year with those for the twenty-third year, the former show a fourfold increase in the number of passengers; an eightfold one in the goods tonnage; a little over a fivefold one in the passenger revenue; and nearly a ninefold one in the goods revenue.

Within the last twelve years remarkable progress has been made. The goods traffic shows a more decided increase than does the passenger traffic. Judging, however, from the statistics of existing conditions, it would appear as though the passenger revenue is always greater than the goods revenue.

The ratio that the goods revenue bears to the passenger revenue per 100 yen is shown below:

​Now let us compare this with the following table:

Percentage of Goods Receipts to Passenger Receipts.
France		1898 …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …	205
		1899 …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …	203
		1900 …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …	187
England		1898 …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …	159
		1899 …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …	161
		1900 …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …	160
Germany		1898–99 …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …	249
		1899–1900 …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …	249
		1900–01 …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …	259

From the above figures of foreign countries it is seen that the goods receipts as compared with the passenger receipts show an excess of from 50 to 200 per cent. Generally speaking, in railway enterprises passenger receipts exceed the goods receipts in the beginning, and afterwards, when the railways have reached a certain standard, the goods revenue seems to increase compared with the passenger revenue. This fact seems to hold good in all countries. Even in England, where there is such an enormous goods traffic, the passenger receipts were much higher than the goods revenue in the early days, quite contrary to the expectations of the promoters. But, as shown above, at present the goods receipts exceed by far the revenue resulting from the carrying of passengers. It seems probable that our railways may follow on the same course, for even now the goods receipts seem to be increasing more rapidly than does the passenger revenue.

To illustrate the existing state of the railways, the following tables have been prepared, showing the average mileage per passenger, the average mileage per ton of goods, and the traffic receipts in both cases:

By these figures it is shown that, while the average mileage per passenger has diminished, the average mileage per ton of goods has considerably increased.

Also the receipts per passenger per mile have increased, whereas the receipts per ton per mile have diminished.

The causes for these results may be explained as under. The reason for the diminution in passenger mileage is to be found entirely in the great increase in short-distance journeys, and the increase in the goods mileage owes its origin to the increase in the length of the total mileage. As regards their respective revenues, the increase in the passenger receipts is due to the increased passenger tariff enforced, and to the reduction in the rates for goods under special contract.

The decrease in the average mileage per passenger may be regarded as a good sign of the progress in railway enterprises, and it is hoped that an increased number of short-distance journeys may in the next few years place Japan in the foremost rank in railway matters in the world.

​Comparing the goods and passenger traffics and distances travelled with the present population, we find the following figures:

Per Head of Population.
Passenger		Number of persons …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …	02.39
		Miles travelled …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …	40.50
Goods tonnage		Number of tons …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …	00.30
		Miles transported …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …          …	16.40

The above table is compiled from the latest statistics, and the result shows that our people travel on an average only a little over twice per annum, and for a distance of forty miles, and also that only a third of a ton of freight is transported for a distance of sixteen miles per head of the population. These analyses show very clearly that as yet the use made of the railway by our people is still in its infancy. In order to encourage a more comprehensive use of the railways, it is necessary on the one hand to arrange for more direct communication, and on the other hand to adopt all the most important modern improvements in railway appliances and methods, so as to induce the public to become accustomed to railway travelling. The existence of so many small railway companies, each independent of the others, is not without its drawbacks in the way of advancement. If those isolated companies were to be consolidated, and enabled to carry on business in a more homogeneous and regularized system, might it not be regarded as a step in the direction of real progress of railway enterprise?