Rail and Railway Passenger and Freight Volumes
Overview
Materials released on July 21, 2026. Rail and railway passenger volume increased year on year in both passenger numbers and passenger-kilometers, while railway freight volume decreased in both freight tonnage and freight ton-kilometers. The materials show passenger and freight breakdowns and direct readers to the Monthly Railway Transport Statistics for details. When reproducing the materials, the monthly report must be identified as the source.
Key points
- Passenger numbers increased 2.2% year on year, and passenger-kilometers increased 2.3%.
- Freight tonnage decreased 3.2% year on year, and freight ton-kilometers decreased 3.3%.
- Passenger transport is divided into JR passenger companies, including Shinkansen, and private railways other than JR.
- Freight is divided into container freight and carload freight.
Overview
The materials released on July 21, 2026, present total volumes and passenger-kilometers and ton-kilometers, as well as year-on-year comparisons, for rail and railway passenger transport and railway freight transport.
Total passenger numbers were 2.05562 billion people, and total passenger-kilometers were 37.5 billion person-kilometers.
Total freight tonnage was 3.01 million tonnes, and total freight ton-kilometers were 1.4 billion ton-kilometers.
Details
Passenger numbers were 750,306 thousand people for JR passenger companies, including 38,200 thousand people for Shinkansen, and 1,305,316 thousand people for private railways other than JR. Passenger-kilometers were, respectively, 24,217,115 thousand person-kilometers, 11,050,418 thousand person-kilometers, and 13,274,882 thousand person-kilometers. Year-on-year figures were 102.4%, 105.4%, and 102.1% for passenger numbers, and 102.7%, 104.4%, and 101.6% for passenger-kilometers.
Freight tonnage was 1,733,454 tonnes for container freight and 1,278,250 tonnes for carload freight. Freight ton-kilometers were, respectively, 1,337,348 thousand ton-kilometers and 105,896 thousand ton-kilometers. Year-on-year figures were 94.9% and 99.5% for tonnage, and 96.5% and 98.8% for ton-kilometers.
For details, refer to the Monthly Railway Transport Statistics. When reproducing the statistical figures, the monthly report must be identified as the source.