Railway, National

national railways, rail transportation services owned and operated by national governments. U.S. railways are privately owned and operated, though the Consolidated Rail Corporation was established by the federal government and Amtrak uses public funds to subsidize privately owned intercity passenger trains. Canada has several small privately owned railways, but its major passenger railway, Canadian National, was government-funded until 1995. In many countries, the central government owns and operates a national rail system, though some countries have privatized their national rail services in hopes of increasing efficiency and lowering cost through competition. These systems were usually formed from the union of various private railroads purchased or nationalized by the government. France’s private railroads were gradually acquired by the government in the early 20th century; in 1938 the last remaining private lines were nationalized and incorporated into the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français (SNCF, or French National Railways). All British railroads were nationalized as British Railways in 1948 but were privatized in 1994. Japan privatized its national railway in 1987. A major concern when national railways are privatized is that service to unprofitable areas will be cut, adversely affecting local populations; privatization plans attempt to address this issue with varying success.