East Japan Railway launches rail pass-shopping card

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2004

TOKYO (AFP) — East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) said it has launched a new version of its high-tech "Suica" rail pass that can be used as an electronic wallet at rail stores in Tokyo and the northern city of Sendai.

The railway, which covers 17 provinces in eastern and northern Japan, is the first in the country to offer a rail pass as a prepaid shopping card at 196 stores at 64 JR East stations.

Up to 20,000 yen (186 dollars) can be stored on the card at any one time, with transactions at stores generating a fee for the railway.

The railway plans to extend use of the card to 500 stores and 200 stations by mid-2004 and to 1,000 stores by March 2005, said JR East spokesman Kazushi Masuya.

"Unfortunately we do not have any forecast of how much revenue...