Japan’s railways – subsidy by another name

John Helm, (Letters LTT 11 May), claimed that Japan’s private railways are profitable. He says they have achieved that by diversification. The companies have acquired real estate and benefited from the increased land values created by the railways. The inference is that the transport element of these companies is loss making. That method of funding may or may not be better than subsidy from the taxpayer, but it nevertheless amounts to subsidy.