JR passengers down 68% in holiday period to record low due to virus

The number of people using the shinkansen and conventional train services operated by Japan Railway companies plunged 68 percent during the year-end and New Year period from a year earlier to 4,879,000, marking the lowest level since comparable data were made available in 1991, six JR companies said Wednesday.The margin of fall was the biggest on record as well, with JR companies citing the novel coronavirus pandemic and the suspension of some services due to heavy snow in Japan's northeast as reasons.In the 12-day period through Tuesday, the number of people riding the Hokkaido Shinkansen …READ FULL ARTICLE