This article is from the Financal Times (FT), but posted here with a link that does not require a FT subscription. Some key quotes from the article: > The bul

This article is from the Financal Times (FT), but posted here with a link that does not require a FT subscription. Some key quotes from the article: > The bulk of Japan's ultra-reliable railway network operates without a single yen of public subsidy. Pricing is straightforward, and apart from consumption tax hikes, JR East has never raised fares once in 31 years as a private operator. > "The basis of railway companies in Japan is they think they will contribute forever. They feel they have a responsibility to local societies," says Hironori Kato, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Tokyo. "This kind of mindset is quite important to make a successful railway business." > even for last minute booking or at the height of the rush hour, companies instead operate a simple, distance-based fare. On the downside, since there is no way to ration scarce peak-time capacity by price, everybody tries to get the 8am train. > This competition between railway areas is linked to another vital part of the business model for Japanese railways: real estate. "The railway is about one-third of our total sales," says Mr Shiroishi. "By name we're a railway company but that's just one of our functions." Another one-third of revenues comes from real estate development along the Tokyu lines, especially at its Shibuya terminus. The final third comes from services to passengers such as supermarkets, convenience stores and hotels. > Integrated rail and property development is standard in Asia, but Britain is going in the other direction, with Network Rail selling off the arches under elevated railway lines in London. > One more feature of Japan's railways is noteworthy: the ability of rivals to co-operate. Touch-and-go payment cards work interchangeably across the country. In Tokyo, suburban trains now run straight into subway tunnels and out the other side of the city; a single journey may use the tracks of five different railway companies. Even then, the companies do not run rival trains, but share rolling stock and run a fully integrated service.