Three major Japan Railway carriers Thursday reported record consolidated sales and pretax profits for fiscal 2005, led by strong demand for bullet train and conventional rail line travel, despite fatal train accidents involving two of them.
East Japan Railway Co. and Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) also logged record group net profits, but West Japan Railway Co. saw a 21 percent decline in net profit as the Osaka-based railway posted an extraordinary loss related to last April's derailment of a Fukuchiyama Line train in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, that killed 107 people and injured more than 500.
JR East's pretax profit during the April-March period jumped 29.4 percent from the previous year to 274.7 billion yen, while net profit surged 41.2 percent to 157.6 billion yen.
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