Change of quantity in passenger railway transport

Railway Transport has witnessed a significant increase in the number of passengers from 1985 to 2007. Shinkansen lines in JR companies has been increased by 17% with the newly opened lines, while conventional lines has been declined by 14% affected by the conversion of 39 lines, or 1,803km, to local lines since the privatization and division of the Japanese railways in 1987. The number of local railway companies has increased from 69 to 112 and the number of second-tier private railway companies declined from 7 to 5 that lead to 45% decline in business kilometers. The total passenger carried from 1985 to 2007 has been increased by 63%. Automobiles and airlines witnessed a substantial increase, with 93% and 116% growth respectively, while railways witnessed an increase of 23%. Railways showed a substantial 9.8% decrease, while automobiles increased by 10.0% and airlines remained the same from 1985 to 2007 in terms of the share of passenger carried by transport modes.