Shinkansen and Express Train Ridership Surges During Year-End and New Year Holidays

Six Japan Railways Group companies reported a significant increase in passenger numbers on their Shinkansen and other express trains during the recent year-end and New Year holiday period. Compared to the previous year, ridership jumped by 11%, reaching a total of 13.09 million passengers.

This figure is even more impressive when compared to fiscal 2018, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to a favorable calendar configuration that allowed many people to take nine consecutive days off, ridership surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time.

Central Japan Railway Co. saw a record number of passengers on the Tokaido Shinkansen line during the holiday period, with daily ridership reaching 412,000. West Japan Railway Co. also experienced a surge in passengers on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line, with a 40% increase following the opening of an extended section connecting Kanazawa and Tsuruga in March 2023.

The strong holiday travel demand extended to air travel as well. Both All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) reported significant increases in domestic flight passengers, with ANA seeing a 19.5% rise and JAL experiencing an 11.5% increase. International passenger numbers also saw healthy growth, with ANA reporting a 17.3% increase and JAL experiencing a 24.4% rise. Notably, ANA saw record traffic to and from Hawaii during the holiday period.