Ministry of Railways (Japan)

Japanese Government Railways
Ministry of Railways
鉄道省 Tetsudō-shō
JNR Class C51 locomotive decorated to haul the imperial train, 1940
Overview
HeadquartersTokyo
LocaleJapan, nationwide
Dates of operation1871–1949
SuccessorJapanese National Railways
Technical
Track gauge3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Length18,400 km (1941)

The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national railway system directly operated by the Japanese Ministry of Railways (Japanese: 鉄道省, romanizedTetsudō-shō, Japanese pronunciation: [te̞t͡sɨᵝdo̞ːɕo̞ː]) until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan Railways Group.