There are railway lines that are falling in a vicious cycle in which the fare needs to be increased due to increase in construction cost, which causes slower growth of the passenger transportation volume, and thus the areas along the line are hardly ever developed, while there are some railway lines that are achieving excellent results in passenger transportation, and thus the areas around the line are actively developed, such as Tsukuba Express of Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company.
建設費の高騰から運賃が高価になり、そのため輸送量が伸び悩み、沿線の開発も進まないという悪循環に陥っている路線もある一方、首都圏新都市鉄道つくばエクスプレスのように好調な輸送実績をあげ、沿線開発が盛んに行われている鉄道路線もある。