Imperial Government Railways

Japanese Government Railways

C51 locomotive decorated to haul the imperial train, 1940
Locale	Japan, nationwide
Dates of operation	1871–1949
Successor	Japanese National Railways
Track gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Length	18,400 km (1941)
Headquarters	Tokyo

The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national railway system directly operated by the central government of Japan until 1949. It is a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the Japan Railways Group.

The English name "Japanese Government Railways" was what the Ministry of Railways (鉄道省, Tetsudōshō^?) of Japan (established in 1920) used to call its own "Ministry Lines" (省線, shōsen^?) and sometimes the ministry itself as a railway operator. Other English names for the government railways include Imperial Japanese Government Railways and Imperial Government Railways, which were mainly used prior to the establishment of the ministry. This article however covers the railways operated by the central government of Japan from 1872 to 1949 notwithstanding the official English name of the system of each era.

By the end of World War II in 1945, the Japanese Government Railways operated on the main Japanese islands of Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū, Shikoku and Karafuto. The railways in Taiwan and Korea were operated by the local Governor-General Offices and were not part of JGR.

While the JGR was the only major operator of intercity railways after the railway nationalization in 1906-07, privately owned regional railways were also active.