Future Vision of Mobility (Railway Sector): What Business Transformation Is Required in an Era of Population Decline?

However, in recent years, there has been a growing number of discussions regarding the increase in unprofitable lines and potential line closures.In fact, based on our estimates using the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s Railway Statistics Annual Report and publicly available data from railway companies, 329 out of 526 conventional railway lines—more than 60%—were operating at a loss as standalone railway businesses as of 2019.

Why, then, are so many lines unprofitable?

When people hear “unprofitable railway lines,” they often imagine routes with low ridership. In reality, however, even heavily used lines can operate at a loss. For example, the Toei Oedo Line reported an operating loss of 3.2 billion yen in FY2023, while the Osaka Metro Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line reported a loss of 4.1 billion yen in FY2017. Thus, even urban lines with high ridership can fall into deficit.
In fact, ……