JR Express Train Passengers Up 5 Pct during Golden Week

Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)–The total number of passengers on Shinkansen and other express trains during the Golden Week holiday period from late April to early May rose 5 pct from a year earlier to 14,766,000, data from six Japan Railways Group companies showed Thursday. The data, covering 46 major routes across the country, between April 24 and Wednesday, marked the third-highest level after 2019 and 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic. An official of East Japan Railway Co. said that people “may have found it easier to string together longer holidays on this year’s calendar.” The number of passengers climbed 4 pct for Central Japan Railway Co.’s Tokaido Shinkansen line and 7 pct for West Japan Railway Co.’s Sanyo Shinkansen line, both surpassing the levels a year before, during the 2025 World Exposition in the western Japan city of Osaka. Among the six companies, only Hokkaido Railway Co. posted a decline, with passenger numbers falling 5 pct. The number of passengers on limited express trains in the Sapporo-Iwamizawa section on a conventional line sagged 19 pct. “It may have been affected by the shift to the fully reserved seating system in March,” an official said. Airlines also enjoyed brisk demand. The number of passengers for domestic flights between April 29 and Wednesday rose 12.4 pct from a year earlier at All Nippon Airways and 7.5 pct at Japan Airlines. International traffic climbed 14.4 pct at ANA and 2.3 pct at JAL. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]