The Formation of a Railway Transportation System in Japan's Railway Industry

THE PRINCIPAL objective of this essay is to throw light on the process by which the railway transportation system was formed in Japan's railway industry,paying special attention to the ques tion of how a modern consciousness of time and operational disci pline took root in this country.The railway transportation system is a synthesis of many subsystems, such as station duties,the drawing up and adjustment of train timeta bles,engine driving,the safety system,and so on.In order for a rail way to be run smoothly,a number of different subsystems have to be in place,each of them being followed in an orderly manner,and they must be administered with care being taken to maintain close rela tions among them all,in regard to such things,for example,as time management.For this to happen,managing the overall system in a unified way and maintaining punctuality and safety in running the trains is a vital responsibility when it comes to operating a railway.Also, for a transport industry such as the railway industry,conveyance of people and goods is the production process and at the same time the sales(consumption)process.In this sense,an analysis of the railway transportation system that forms the foundation for such con