Why Japan has such good railways • Hacker News Board

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#21

Post by testing22321 » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 1:53 PM UTC

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #17

testing22321 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It can’t work in the US, because it’s not a society that works together for the collective good, or to raise everyone’s quality of life. It’s a bunch of individuals in a dog eat dog situation who happen to live nearby.

I was just thinking about this, this morning. In the US, we have had a pretty wide-open nation, for much of our history. Population density was low, and many folks were forced to be extremely self-sufficient. This has resulted in a fiercely independent national zeitgeist. Asian nations, on the other hand, have been very crowded, for a very long time. This has resulted in a much more interdependent mindset. Each has i…

>In the US, we have had a pretty wide-open nation, for much of our history. Population density was low, and many folks were forced to be extremely self-sufficient. This has resulted in a fiercely independent national zeitgeist.

Australia is much less dense and more remote that the US (I drove 1,050 miles in Australia through the desert without seeing a vehicle or person, in the US you can’t get more than 100 miles from McDonald’s) but Australian’s work together and don’t have this “ fiercely independent “ nonsense that keeps everyone at each others throats.

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#22

Post by signorovitch » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 1:54 PM UTC

Japan also has amazing car infrastructure too! Last time I was there visiting family in the mountains, I was quite impressed by the number and quality of tunnels and spiral ramps. The highways are similarly privatized, with tolls like train fares reducing the need for government subsidies.

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#23

Post by trvz » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 1:57 PM UTC

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #14

I love the Japanese rail system. I am retired, now, so don't travel there, anymore, but I always used to cry, after coming back to the US, and getting on LIRR trains. The most amazing thing, is how on-time they are, and how precise their stops are. They have marks on the platform, showing exactly where the doors will open (Protip: Don't stand directly in front of the doors, when they open). I hear that this is the re…

The Densha de Go game series lets you experience a bit of what it’s like to drive a Japanese train.

There’s also Hmmsim 2 on iOS, which may be easier to get/run.

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#24

Post by presentation » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 2:03 PM UTC

thegreatpeter wrote: post #18

andrewstuart wrote: post #11

Countries like Japan seem to make policy that serves the people. Other countries decisions serve politicians, corporates, the rich, and maybe possibly finally, the citizens. Here in Melbourne a city of 5 million people we don’t have a train from the airport to the city despite decades of political talk about it. But why not? Because the Airport Coporation makes vast unfathomable profit on car parking. What’s most imp…

most of the japanese railway system is private. their 2 largest companies are some of the largest publicly traded companies in the world.

Works in progress also had a great article recently (also discussed on hacker news) about how Japanese railways are private, profit earning real estate development corporations. [1]

Unfortunately, people from western countries have very negative views toward the privatization of mass transit despite the wild success that Japan has experienced. The model makes so much sense: if trains are just a way to get people to the real estate that you developed, then you’re going to make sure that the trains AND the destinations are really nice, which also turns out to be very lucrative (at least in densely populated areas) as a cherry on top.

And even worse, like this commenter above alludes to, it is trendy in the West to believe that real estate developers are evil, and that corporations that make money are sucking the life out of society. This kind of degrowth populism pretty much guarantees that the successful Japanese model is out of reach for most countries, because it is exactly the pursuit of profit that makes Japan’s system so nice - not some edicts from a benevolent and extremely capable government.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47762060

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#25

Post by cebert » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 2:08 PM UTC

Japan has some of the best infrastructure anywhere. It will be interesting to see if they can keep it that way with their population changing and becoming more geriatric.

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#26

Post by panick21_ » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 2:08 PM UTC

kdheiwns wrote: post #7

amazingamazing wrote: post #3

the railways are excellent, but it's funny. I was just in Kyoto and saw flyers seemingly at every single temple opposing the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension. apparently this type of opposition has always existed (I looked at the history of trains in Japan and originally most Japanese did NOT want it at all because they thought it looked really ugly), like nimbys in USA, but such decisions are apparently federalized acc…

They still have influence in Japan. The maglev train has been delayed for years because a small portion passes through Shizuoka, and the local government wouldn't approve construction due to it making no stops in the prefecture and potentially affecting water supplies there. This delayed the opening of it from 2027 to 2035 at the earliest. Shizuoka as a whole is unusually screwed by the Shinkansen system. Large citie…

Funny how people always endlessly worry about water supply, its one of those things that is very easy to claim but very hard to prove an in 99.9% of times there really isn't an issue.

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#27

Post by ChrisMarshallNY » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 2:09 PM UTC

testing22321 wrote: post #21

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was just thinking about this, this morning. In the US, we have had a pretty wide-open nation, for much of our history. Population density was low, and many folks were forced to be extremely self-sufficient. This has resulted in a fiercely independent national zeitgeist. Asian nations, on the other hand, have been very crowded, for a very long time. This has resulted in a much more interdependent mindset. Each has i…

> In the US, we have had a pretty wide-open nation, for much of our history. Population density was low, and many folks were forced to be extremely self-sufficient. This has resulted in a fiercely independent national zeitgeist. Australia is much less dense and more remote that the US (I drove 1,050 miles in Australia through the desert without seeing a vehicle or person, in the US you can’t get more than 100 miles f…

I don’t know.

Most Aussies I’ve known are quite independent.

I really like them; maybe because we share so many traits.

Also, the US was where the British sent their convicts, until we had a big prison riot.

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#28

Post by briandw » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 2:09 PM UTC

dwroberts wrote: post #13

amazingamazing wrote: post #3

the railways are excellent, but it's funny. I was just in Kyoto and saw flyers seemingly at every single temple opposing the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension. apparently this type of opposition has always existed (I looked at the history of trains in Japan and originally most Japanese did NOT want it at all because they thought it looked really ugly), like nimbys in USA, but such decisions are apparently federalized acc…

Objections to large projects exist everywhere all over the world. The reason the US has such an issue with this is because of state autonomy (and corruption). Most other places in the world don’t allow subregions of the country to do whatever they want and make up laws etc

Switzerland is even more regional than the US. Yet they seem to have built an excellent rail system.

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#29

Post by xyzelement » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 2:10 PM UTC

testing22321 wrote: post #8

amazingamazing wrote: post #3

the railways are excellent, but it's funny. I was just in Kyoto and saw flyers seemingly at every single temple opposing the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension. apparently this type of opposition has always existed (I looked at the history of trains in Japan and originally most Japanese did NOT want it at all because they thought it looked really ugly), like nimbys in USA, but such decisions are apparently federalized acc…

It can’t work in the US, because it’s not a society that works together for the collective good, or to raise everyone’s quality of life. It’s a bunch of individuals in a dog eat dog situation who happen to live nearby.

I think this is not a smart read of the situation. The US has built a tremendous amount of rail and other transit (eg NYC subway) back when it was an even more individualistic society than today.

In fact they country was clearly able to come together for the public good many times throughout their history.

You could consider other causes.

Re: Why Japan has such good railways

#30

Post by epolanski » Sat, Apr 18, 2026, 2:10 PM UTC

I've been in Kyushu, in the south.

Japanese railways are indeed amazing, but it should be pointed out that peripheral routes are being dismissed everywhere in the country side, often isolating people and killing places.

Infrastructure is also dated in many places.

It's not a criticism to Japan, I think they are just facing the fact that many people move to the cities and the country is on a population decline as well.

They are facing this very masterfully.