While there are many countries in which the railway network was developed by private companies in pioneer days of railways, there are no countries in which private railways have maintained the railway network widely up to the present date except for Japan.
鉄道の草創期は民間事業者によって鉄道網が発展した国は多いものの、現在に至るまで私鉄が広く路線網を維持している国はない。