JR Tokai, JR West Enjoy Record Sales, Profits amid Osaka Expo

Tokyo, Nov. 4 (Jiji Press)–Central Japan Railway Co., or JR Tokai, and West Japan Railway Co., or JR West, have both logged record group sales and net profits for April-September, thanks to the 2025 World Exposition in the western city of Osaka and brisk travel demand from foreign visitors. Sales rose 12.4 pct from a year earlier to 982.2 billion yen at JR Tokai and 7.4 pct to 871.8 billion yen at JR West. Net profit jumped 27.6 pct to 298.1 billion yen at JR Tokai and 24.4 pct to 86.7 billion yen at JR West. JR Tokai’s revenue from its mainstay transportation services increased 14 pct to a record 785.4 billion yen, reflecting a boost from the Osaka Expo, which ended in October. Its Shinkansen bullet train services posted a revenue increase of 96.2 billion yen. JR Tokai also logged a record operating profit for the first half of fiscal 2025.”Railway use has been increasing steadily since the end of the COVID-19 crisis,” JR Tokai President Shunsuke Niwa said at a press briefing. JR West said that the Osaka Expo pushed up its Sanyo Shinkansen and Hokuriku Shinkansen revenues by 11.3 billion yen and 1.6 billion yen yen, respectively. Meanwhile, transportation revenue at East Japan Railway Co., or JR East, grew 4.2 pct to 915.8 billion yen, following the introduction of upgraded seats on its Chuo Line trains. JR East expects demand from foreign visitors to remain strong. It maintained its full-year forecast for transportation revenue related to foreign visitors at 52 billion yen, despite the impact of speculation among overseas social media users that a massive earthquake may hit Japan. “We’ll strengthen sales of winter products, such as those related to snow and hot springs,” JR East Executive Vice President Atsuko Ito said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]