JR Kyushu

Kyushu Railway Company

Native name	九州旅客鉄道株式会社
Type	Public KK
Traded as	:
Industry	Private railway
Predecessor	Japanese National Railways (JNR)
Founded	April 1, 1987 (privatization of JNR)
Headquarters	3-25-21 Hakata Ekimae Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
Products	SUGOCA (a rechargeable contactless smart card)
Services	passenger railways freight services bus transportation Real estate development other related services
Owner	Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (100%)
Number of employees	7,970 (as of April 1, 2008)
Website	jrkyushu.co.jp/english/index.html

The Kyushu Railway Company (九州旅客鉄道株式会社, Kyūshū Ryokaku Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha^?), also referred to as JR Kyushu (JR九州, Jeiāru Kyūshū^?), is one of the constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services in Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait between Fukuoka and Busan, South Korea. JR Kyushu's headquarters are in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka.

When Japanese National Railways was divided in 1987, Kyushu Railway Company inherited its assets and operations on the island of Kyushu along with losses of around 28.8 billion yen, exacerbated by a growing highway network in Kyushu and a large number of lightly-used rural lines. After privatization, JR Kyushu diversified its business into new ventures such as fish and mushroom farming and car sales. Two of its more successful side ventures were the Beetle ferry, started in 1991, and the Trandor bakery chain, started in 1992. JR Kyushu also built up its premium rail services through the development of the Kyushu Shinkansen high-speed rail line and the Seven Stars in Kyushu luxury excursion train.