Private railway 193307 190838178 2008-02-12T05:11:39Z Soredewa 229254 /* Japan */ typo. A '''private railroad''' is a [[rail transport|railroad]] run by a private corporation, as opposed to a railroad run by a [[public sector]]. ==Japan== In [[Rail transport in Japan|Japan]], {{Nihongo|private railway|私鉄 or 民鉄|Shitetsu or Mintetsu}} refers to a railway line owned and operated by private sector. Although [[Japan Railways Group]] companies are private entities, they are not considered private railways because of their unique status as the successors of the [[Japanese National Railways]] (JNR). In a traditional sense, even [[voluntary sector]] railways are not included by their origins as the rural, non-profitable JNR line transferred to local possession as a form of joint stock corporation/company ([[Kabushiki kaisha]]). Among private railways in Japan, 15 companies are categorized as "major", such as [[Odakyu Electric Railway|Odakyu]], [[Keihin Electric Express Railway|Keikyu]], [[Nagoya Railroad|Meitetsu]], [[Tokyu Corporation|Tokyu]]. They are often profitable and less expensive (to ride) than publicly run railways. Private railways also run a variety of other businesses, such as hotels, department stores and real estate. ==United States== In the [[United States]], a private railroad is a railroad owned by a company and serves only that company, and does not hold itself out as a "common carrier" (i.e., it does not provide rail transport services for the general public). ==See also== *[[Industrial railway]] *[[Railway nationalization]] *[[National Rail]] (UK) {{rail-stub}} [[Category:Rail transport]] [[ko:사철]] [[ja:私鉄]]