Domestic passenger transportation in FY 1994 showed a mild recovery amid a keynote of recovery in individual consumption. The total number of passengers carried by domestic means of transport in Japan was 83.2 billion, an increase of 1.1% (compared to the previous FY; the same applies below). Total transportation passenger kilometers increased 0.98% to 1,367.4 billion passenger-kilometres.
(1)JR
Owing to the the Great Hanshin Earthquake, the number of passengers carried by JR fell 0.3% and transportation passenger-kilometres fell by 2.3% (in FY 1993 these increased by 1.0% and 0.2%, respectively), both decreasing for the first time in 12 years (since 1982, not yet privatized).
(2) Private Railway Companies
Other private railways also suffered from the effect of the earthquake, the number of passengers carried failing 1.0% and transportation passenger kilometres failing by 0.5%. Major private railways (15 companies) continued to fall, the number of passengers carried falling 1.1% and transportation passenger-kilometres falling by 0.7%.
2. Trends in Freight Transportation
In terms of gross transported tonnage, domestic freight transportation volume in FY 1994 was 6.57 million tons, an increase of 1.1% (compared to the previous FY; the same applies below). In FY 1993 it fell by 4.401o. Gross transportation ton-kilometres increased 2.2% to 547.5 million ton-kilometres (FY 1993: fell by 3.8%). Thus both the tonnage and the ton-kilometres increased for the first time in 3 years.
Freight transportation volume by railways in FY 1994 fell by 0.40% in terms of tonnage while ton-kilometres fell by 3.7%, both falling for the 4th successive year. As a result, the share of railways in terms of transportation ton-kilometres in FY 1994 was 4.5%.
