The number of passengers carried every year by the combined railways of Japan is close to the number of people alive in the world today.
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Specifically: annual rail ridership in Japan is 7.3 billion passengers This is accomplished on 27,000 km of track, 20,000 km electrified
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Compare this with Germany, which carries 2 billion per year on 41,000 km of track...or even China, which carries 2.4 billion on 121,000 km
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The only country carrying more *total passengers* per year, as far as I know, is India: 8.4 billion on 69,000 km of track
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Other countries: France: 1.1 billion Russia: 1.3 billion UK: 1.7 billion
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Statistics for the USA are not compiled on a nationwide basis...Amtrak carries about 30 million per year, but commuter rail carries far more
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This is very telling; it is because of the strength of its commuter rail that Japan carries so many passengers every year
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Aside from the JR Group, most private railways in Japan are concentrated on the needs of urban and suburban riders
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And even the JR Group derives the vast majority of its ridership from urban commuter lines, not high-speed rail or regional rail
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But look at what else this means: excellent regional rail and rural rail is still viable, so long as urban/suburban ridership supports it
End of conversation
New conversation -
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Boy oh boy, it's
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