Pan-Asian Rail Pass On The Horizon

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: Govt to launch prepaid rail passes usable across Asia
The Construction and Transport Ministry said Tuesday it plans to launch a prepaid rail pass that can be used in major cities around Asia, with tests of the card planned for April. If such cards, which use embedded integrated circuits, become a reality, they will reduce the hassle involved in travel to other Asian cities, eliminating the need to carry multiple passes or change money. According to the ministry, travellers will be able to buy prepaid rail passes usable in other Asian cities through the Internet and at airports and travel agencies in Japan from next summer. The ministry plans to begin the service in cooperation with countries and regions including South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore. The ministry is also planning to introduce credit cards that can function as rail passes in other Asian cities. Travellers can use such cards to board trains without buying tickets, with the cost of tickets charged to their credit card. The company that operates the Kansai region's PiTaPa passes is now in talks with a South Korean credit card company to build the functions of the PiTaPa passes into South Korean credit cards. In exchange, Japanese credit card companies are planning to look into introducing the functions of South Korean prepaid rail passes in Japanese credit cards.