A train runs on the Yamanote line in Tokyo. Photo: WIKIPEDIA
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JR East to move up last train departure times in Tokyo from spring

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Coronavirus reduced rider numbers is occuring right now and the massive financial losses for them are also happening right now...

...but they will not shorten the schedule (which is supposedly badly needed for maintenance) for another 7 months from now, at which time Japan intends to start its mass vaccination program while also hopefully begin to return to "normal" life, start letting in the throngs of foreign tourists, and gear up for the Olympics.

JR, always on time.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

To ‘move up’ last train times give the impression of extending tines not reducing them.

12 ( +16 / -4 )

Fukasawa said the number of passengers traveling late at night has been on the decline in recent years, and the coronavirus outbreak has "further accelerated" that trend.

I must have run for the last train several dozen times when I was younger, on dates or when out on the sauce, so this is a sad development. I used to get the Hankyu Line from Osaka and they announced the last train with the theme tune from "The Third Man".

4 ( +4 / -0 )

How about less trains in off peak times and keep later ones?

5 ( +7 / -2 )

So the trains will be still be crowded?

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Fukasawa also said the move is aimed at improving conditions for maintenance workers who work overnight after the train service concludes.

BS- The move is to cut costs and shore up profits.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Jesus I’m glad I moved to a more central location in Tokyo before all of this

Trains like the Yamanote loop and subway should be running all night, perhaps with a train every 15 - 20 minutes or so. Cutting service should be out of the question. Maybe JR could cut its (likely) bloated office staff?

7 ( +7 / -0 )

I wonder if any taxi company executives were seen carrying large brown paper bags in the vicinity of JR offices recently.

And @Do the hustle, I agree, "move up" is a terribly ambiguous word, as is "pushing back" the starting times of the morning trains as mentioned later in the article. Many (most?) people see time as moving "forward" from the past to the present and into the future. The article should have used "earlier" and "later" in all these cases to avoid ambiguity.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

So much for a city that never sleeps! JR Yamanote line should have been one that runs 24 hours. Yeah, decrease the number of trains running and make the other trains super crowded so that we all can let the corona virus spread further...idiots!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

This won't be good for the bars when they fully reopen, and is also a negative for inbound tourism when that starts again. Wasn't one of the complaints about night life?

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Coronavirus reduced rider numbers is occuring right now and the massive financial losses for them are also happening right now...

...but they will not shorten the schedule (which is supposedly badly needed for maintenance) for another 7 months from now, at which time Japan intends to start its mass vaccination program while also hopefully begin to return to "normal" life, start letting in the throngs of foreign tourists, and gear up for the Olympics.

JR, always on time.

You might be surprised to know that roughly 90% of JR's income doesn't even come from trains.

A good friend of mine works at JR East, even if they had 0 passengers they still need to run the trains, and even if they did that they would still be making a profit. The reasoning being, they don't make money off your tickets, they make money off the ads in the trains. Which is also why they always have to be running.

I assure you, they don't have "massive financial losses" lol

2 ( +5 / -3 )

In many ways JR East is as much a property company as it is a rail operator with all the businesses that operate in their buildings, kiosks, restaurants, etc. No doubt there are some struggling tenants as well.

I am sure their coffers are deep enough to withstand a few more months of this, but at the same time reducing trains is a prudent thing at the moment.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

I have noticed that Keisei has kept its Skyliners running to the airports even though there is hardly a single passenger on them and it has been this way for 6 months now. The problem is that the regular overcrowded trains have to yield to them at several stations along the way which means passengers have to spend ore time in a virus-friendly atmosphere.

Keiesi must be losing tons of money by keeping running them.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

@ ksteer I assure you, they don't have "massive financial losses" lol

So you mean that either the article here is making this up:

"In the April to June period, JR East reported a net loss of 155.3 billion yen."

or JR is outright lying about their finances?

You might be surprised to know that roughly 90% of JR's income doesn't even come from trains.

A good friend of mine works at JR East... ...they don't make money off your tickets, they make money off the ads in the trains

Sure, ads probably play a part in their income, but 90%? What a ridiculous belief.

Just think about that claim a moment: JR East has about 6 Billion (yeah, with a "B", I just looked it up) annual riders. At the very least, each ride costs an average of 200 yen. So thats a minimum of 1.2 Trillion yen of rider income per year (or about $12 billion) but its probably much more considering the price of Shinkansen tickets and the mass of commuters living farther than a basic 200 yen trip...

But according to your friend, this represents just a mere 10% of their annual income??!! Which means the ads equate to 10 Trillion yen ($100 Billion) per year??!

(FYI, I also looked up the total annual income for JR East. Its about 3 trillion yen)

Unless JR East is hiding trillions of yen in income every year, then its your friend who is either making things up or lying.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

@goodlucktoyou

How about less trains in off peak times and keep later ones?

Yeah, sounds like a good plan to me! Let’s do that.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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