Government railway - Kansetsu railway

...One of the few exceptions is Germany, where, from 1815 to the 1860s, during the period of the German Confederation consisting of 35 monarchies and four free cities, private railways were built, while in some places, such as Baden in the south, national railways were created from the beginning. In Japan, too, the Tokaido Main Line, which opened between Shinbashi and Yokohama in 1872 and to Kobe in 1889, was a national railway (called a government railway at the time). However, the railways that opened between Ueno and Takasaki in 1884 and between Ueno and Aomori in 1891 were built by the Japanese Railway Co., Ltd., which was funded by members of the aristocracy. ...

*Some of the terminology used in reference to "government-run railways" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…数少ない例外の一つはドイツで，1815年から1860年代にかけて35の君主国と四つの自由都市からなるドイツ連邦の時代に，民営鉄道が建設される一方で，南部のバーデンなど一部では最初から国有鉄道がつくられた。日本でも，1872年に新橋～横浜間，89年に神戸まで全通した東海道本線は国有鉄道(当時は官設鉄道と呼んだ)であった。もっとも，1884年に上野～高崎間が，91年に上野～青森間が全通した鉄道は，華族らの出資による日本鉄道株式会社の建設したものであった。…

※「官設鉄道」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報