Central China Railway
Central China Railway locomotive C51 116
at Suzhou Station, 30 January 1939. |
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Native name
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華中鉄道株式会社 華中鐵道股份有限公司 |
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Romanized name
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Kachū Tetsudō Kabushiki Kaisha Huázhōng Tiědào Gǔfèn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī |
| Joint-stock company | |
| Industry | Railway |
| Founded | April 1939 |
| Defunct | August 1945 |
| Headquarters | Shanghai, Republic of China |
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Area served
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east-central China |
| Services | Railway transport |
| Total equity | 50 million yen |
The Central China Railway (Japanese: 華中鉄道株式会社, Kachū Tetsudō Kabushiki Kaisha; Chinese: 華中鐵道股份有限公司, Huázhōng Tiědào Gǔfèn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī) was a railway company in Japanese-occupied China established after the Second Sino-Japanese War. It was a joint venture between Japan, the Reformed Government of the Republic of China and the Nanjing National Government. Together with the North China Transportation Company, it was responsible for management of China's railways during the Japanese occupation. In reality, it was a Japanese .
It ceased to exist after the Japanese defeat in the Pacific War and was absorbed by the Republic of China Railway, eventually becoming part of China Railway in 1949 after the establishment of the People's Republic.
While the North China Transportation Company was influenced heavily by its parent company, the South Manchuria Railway (Mantetsu), the Central China Railway was strongly influenced by the Japanese Government Railways, as a result of a large number of JGR engineers and officials being sent to work at the Central China Railway's Shanghai offices and to assemble steam locomotives.
In addition to the usual first, second and third-class passenger equipment seen elsewhere, the Central China Railway had fourth class carriages as well. These were newly built with the structure of a covered goods wagon adapted for passenger use, intended for use by poor Chinese farmers and seasonal workers. Conditions in these cars were remarkably poor, with passengers on two levels, but because the fare was very inexpensive, they were sufficient to the needs. Chinese were permitted to travel in first class if they paid the full fare, but Japanese were not permitted to travel in fourth class.
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Wikipedia