Networks and Operators

Japanese National Railways

Also Known As JNR · Kokutetsu

National Railway

Citation Formats

General Reference

Transport Atlas. "Japanese National Railways." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://transport.interactiveatlas.org/networks/japanese-national-railways.

APA Style

Transport Atlas. (n.d.). Japanese National Railways. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://transport.interactiveatlas.org/networks/japanese-national-railways

BibTeX

@misc{transportatlas-japanese-national-railways,
  author = {Transport Atlas},
  title = {Japanese National Railways},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://transport.interactiveatlas.org/networks/japanese-national-railways},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Japan's government owned railway operator from 1949 to 1987, running the national network across every prefecture and debuting the Shinkansen, the first modern high speed railway, in 1964. Burdened by debt from unprofitable rural lines, it was privatized and split into the JR Group companies in 1987.

Facts

Founded Year

1949 1

Significance

The operator that debuted modern high speed rail. 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

Operates

Seikan Tunnel

Why this is disputed. Japanese National Railways planned and began the tunnel, but JNR was privatised in 1987, a year before the tunnel opened in 1988, so operation passed to its Hokkaido and East Japan successor companies at opening. Recorded against JNR for continuity with this atlas's existing JNR entity; a successor-company edge is a fair repair for whichever lane next works the networks axis.

Shinkansen 0 Series

Source Wikipedia: Japanese National Railways