Keisei Electric Railway has asked Japan's land, infrastructure and transport minister to approve a 14.1% fare revision from March 2028, and its own numbers show the increase would not close the gap. The board resolved to apply on 6 November 2026, and the company filed the same day, according to its notice on the railway passenger fare revision application. Nothing changes until the application is approved.
Who pays more
The 14.1% is the overall revision rate, and the revenue-increase rate is lower at 12.2%. Both are measured with the current barrier-free fee included in today's fares. Keisei collects that fee on the Keisei main line and the Chihara line, on ordinary tickets and commuter passes only, and says it will abolish it with the revision. It says it will keep building the facilities the fee pays for and push that work harder.
Treatment differs sharply by ticket type. Excluding the barrier-free fee, the revision rate is 17.3% for non-pass tickets and 15.3% for commuter passes.
| Ticket type | Revision rate (%) | Revenue increase (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Non-pass tickets | 14.3 | 12.6 |
| Commuter passes | 16.9 | 13.5 |
| Student passes | -11.5 | -7.2 |
| All passes | 13.7 | 11.2 |
| Total | 14.1 | 12.2 |
Keisei says ordinary fares are set so the change from current fares including the barrier-free fee stays within 20%. Commuter passes would broadly track the increase in ordinary fares for each distance band. Student passes are to be held in consideration of household budgets. The table nonetheless lists student passes at a revision rate of minus 11.5%, and the student pass discount rate on the Keisei main line moves from 80.0% to 83.1%.
The base fare on the Keisei main line and similar lines would rise to ¥170 from ¥150 including the fee, and the Narita Airport line to ¥230 from ¥210.
One fare system after the Shin-Keisei merger
Following the 2025 merger with Shin-Keisei Electric Railway, now the Matsudo line, Keisei would set Chihara line and Matsudo line fares equal to the main line's and end the practice of adding separate fares when a trip crosses those lines. Because that would raise fares for trips wholly within the Matsudo line, Keisei plans a separate notified fare for them. Trips over 6km would then cost less than the main line fare.
The cost case
Keisei cites cost increases from higher prices, fewer riders as telework spreads, and, most recently, extra costs from the Middle East conflict. It also cites large capital spending. It plans ¥167bn of capital spending over the three years from fiscal 2028 to 2030, the largest in its history, or ¥55.7bn a year. Safety and stable operation take ¥71.8bn, customer service ¥25.1bn and capacity increases ¥70.1bn. The last category includes expanding a rolling stock depot and introducing a new paid express train.
On the application's calculation method, railway revenue for the three-year 2028 to 2030 average would be ¥112.15bn against costs of ¥120.33bn. That leaves a loss of ¥8.18bn and a revenue-to-cost ratio of 93.2%. At current fares the loss would be ¥18.44bn and the ratio 84.7%. The company's actual results for the year to March 2026 showed revenue of ¥93.34bn and a 107.3% ratio. Keisei notes that the figures follow the application formula and differ from actual results.
Keisei describes this as its first fare revision in 32 years, since 1995, excluding changes caused by consumption tax.