Nishi-Nippon Railroad

Not to be confused with West Japan Railway Company, which has a similar Japanese name.

The Nishi-Nippon Railroad Company, Ltd. (西日本にしにほん鉄道てつどう株式会社かぶしきがいしゃ, Nishinippon Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha), also called Nishitetsu (西鉄にしてつ) or NNR, TYO: 9031 is one of Japan's "Big 16" private railroad companies. With headquarters in Fukuoka, it operates local and highway buses, supermarkets, real estate and travel agencies, as well as railways in Fukuoka Prefecture. It also owns the Chikuhō Electric Railroad.

Nishi-Nippon Railroad Co., Ltd.

Native name	西日本にしにほん鉄道てつどう株式会社かぶしきがいしゃ
Romanized name	Nishinippon Tetsudō kabushiki gaisha
Company type	Public (kabushiki gaisha)
Traded as	TYO: 9031 FSE: 9031
Industry	Private railroad
Founded	December 17, 1908 (1908-12-17)
Headquarters	Tenjin, Fukuoka , Japan
Area served	Fukuoka Prefecture
Key people	Koichi Hayashida (President and CEO)
Owner	Bank of Fukuoka (4.91%) JR Kyushu (1.04%) Keihan Electric Railway (0.32%) Keisei Electric Railway (0.26%) Keikyu (0.16%)
Website	www.nishitetsu.co.jp/en/index.html (in English)

Old Nishitetsu logo used between 1942 and 1996

Nishitetsu bus

Nishitetsu operates the Fukuoka BRT.

Nishitetsu Highway Bus

Nishitetsu train

Hyundai Universe

In addition, in 1943 the company owned the Nishitetsu Baseball Club, a team in the Japanese Baseball League. From 1950 to 1972, the company owned the Lions (in 1950, known as the Clippers), a Pacific League baseball team.

The company introduced nimoca, a smart card ticketing system, in May 2008.

Routes

Nishi-Nippon Railroad operates four railway lines:

1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (standard-gauge)

• Tenjin Ōmuta Line - linking Nishitetsu Fukuoka (Tenjin) Station in Chūō-ku, Fukuoka and Ōmuta Station in Ōmuta (74.8 km)
• Dazaifu Line - linking Nishitetsu Futsukaichi Station in Chikushino, Goto, and Dazaifu Station in Dazaifu (2.4 km)
• Amagi Line - linking Miyanojin Station in Kurume and Amagi Station in Amagi, passing through Tachiarai (17.9 km)

1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) (narrow-gauge)

• Kaizuka Line - linking Kaizuka Station in Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, and Nishitetsu Shingū Station in Shingū (11.0 km)

Major local bus routes extend to Kitakyushu and serve other municipalities in the prefecture. Long-haul routes carry traffic to other prefectures in Kyushu, across the Kanmon Straits to Shimonoseki, and serve Osaka, Nagoya, and Shinjuku in Tokyo.

Rolling stock

Active

Standard gauge

• 3000 series
• 5000 series
• 6000/6050 series
• 7000/7050 series
• 9000 series

Narrow gauge

• Nishitetsu 600 series

Retired

Standard gauge

• 700 series
• 1000 series
• 2000 series
• 8000 series

Real estate investment

In 2015 Nishitetsu along with Hankyu Hanshin Holdings and a Vietnamese real estate company set up a joint venture to develop condominiums in Vietnam, initially in Ho Chi Minh City.

See also

• Rail transport in Japan

External links

• Official website (in English)
• Train & bus schedules (in English)