My name is Kise, President and CEO. Thank you for attending today's briefing on financial results and management strategy. I would like to begin by explaining the new group management vision that we are currently discussing and scheduled to announce this coming summer. In July 2018, we announced Move Up 2027, our group management vision for the next 10 years. Under Move Up 2027, we have been trying to promote structural reforms in all aspects of our business by anticipating changes in the business environment, such as population decline, changes in work styles, development of the Internet society, and practical application of automated driving technology, and by setting forth a shift in the starting point of management from railway infrastructure-focused to people-focused management.
However, we believe that now is the time for the group to go beyond the conventional norm and fly boldly to unprecedented heights as the business environment undergoes even more rapid changes after COVID-19. We will create new markets with unprecedented ideas and strategies by refining the two axes of mobility and lifestyle solutions with a people-focused marketing approach and aim to realize enriched lifestyles for all people by contributing to solving social issues and creating excitement for customers and local communities. We hope to announce our new group management vision this summer while taking into account the approval status of the fare revision for which we are currently applying. This slide is the new group management vision, which we have summarized in one slide, as we aim to achieve growth discontinuous with what we have achieved in the past.
As I mentioned earlier, we expect to be able to provide you with the details of this vision by the summer. Now, I will explain our medium to long-term direction. The mobility and lifestyle solutions businesses centered on railroads support the management of our group, and we will continue to face various management pressures, such as changes in the business environment, infectious diseases like COVID-19, and natural disasters of an increasingly severe nature. We have built a robust management structure that can grow sustainably even in such circumstances. We will maximize our corporate value by leveraging the collective strength of our group through synergy effects of integration and collaboration, as well as the growth of each of the various businesses in our group by taking advantage of their respective strengths. The foundation of the group is the trust of our stakeholders.
However, a series of events occurred in the past fiscal year that sharpened the trust we have built up over the years. We deeply apologize to our customers and stakeholders for any concern or inconvenience these events may have caused. In the railway vehicle wheel set assembly operations, we found that our company and our group company had altered data and had put into operation wheel sets whose press-fit force values were out of the specified range. In response to this fact, I urgently gathered the executives of our company and the presidents of all group companies and instructed them as top management to take this issue as a severe lesson not only for the railroads but also for the entire group and to ensure that they are fully aware of compliance.
In addition to replacing the relevant wheel sets and revising internal regulations or rules, modified system, we will conduct compliance education for all employees and awareness surveys and reflect the results in future quality control. In addition, the planning department, which supports the frontline, will monitor improvement measures for the issue of thorough quality control, and the internal audit department will check the actual status of operations of the frontline and the planning department through audits to improve the governance of the entire group. In March this year, the Tohoku Shinkansen train had an incident in which a train coupler decoupled while running.
Following the incident in September last year, we immediately conducted an emergency general inspection of all the cars involved and, as an immediate countermeasure, installed a device to mechanically fix the coupling so that it would not come off in the event of an electrical abnormality, thereby ensuring safety and resumed running the coupling. In the future, as a permanent measure, we will revise the system so that the circuit of disengaging the coupler does not operate while the train is running. We will further evolve our safety philosophy and promote safety measures in line with technological advancements such as higher Shinkansen speeds. We recognize this as a quality control issue for all services provided to customers and work together as a group to deliver security derived from pursuing ultimate security. Next, I would like to talk about our key mobility measures.
The largest revenue base for mobility is safe and stable transportation and service quality. We plan to invest approximately JPY 1.6 trillion over the five years from fiscal year March 2024 to fiscal year March 2028 to maintain and strengthen our infrastructure to further enhance these factors. The daily railroad transportation income is approximately JPY 5 billion. In order to secure and further increase this amount in daily operations, we will promote measures such as the installation of automatic platform gates, countermeasures against large-scale earthquakes and natural disasters, to expand transportation services. We're expanding Fukushima Station approach line. This is expected to reduce the transportation impact of delays on the Yamagata Shinkansen by about half. Regarding rail cars and facilities, we will proceed with the new construction of the next-generation Tohoku Shinkansen Series E10.
This is a new train that is envisioned as the successor to the E2 and E5 series. Furthermore, we intend to make our railroad business more muscular by solving issues such as labor shortages through technological innovations such as the increase of driver-only operation and driverless operation of Shinkansen. In order to improve further profitability, we're proceeding with the construction of the Haneda Airport Access Line, which is scheduled to open in fiscal 2031. Although there may be some inconvenience to customers due to track switching work, we'll steadily proceed with the project with the understanding and cooperation of our customers. The improvement of airport access will also lead to an increase in the value of Tokyo as a whole. Of course, this is a project that will greatly benefit our group business as well.
It currently takes about 30 minutes from Tokyo Station to Haneda Airport, including transfer time, but once the new line opens, access will be possible in about 18 minutes without transfers, which we believe will be extremely convenient. In addition to improving access and convenience, the construction of the new line will further strengthen the railroad network. We hope that our participation in the development of towns and cities along the rail line will lead to increased profitability for the entire group. We're currently working on the East Yamate Route, which will pass through Tokyo Station and is scheduled to open in 2031. We're also discussing with related parties the possibility of opening Coastal Area Route for access from the Chiba area in 2031. I would like to give you another explanation when it is finalized.
We're currently discussing with the local governments and other related parties to see if these two routes can be opened simultaneously in 2031. Now, fares and charges. As you may know, we applied to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism for fare revision last December, and on April 1, the Transport Council reported to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism that it is appropriate to grant approval as per our application. We're currently requesting approval at the earliest possible date. We're now making preparations to obtain official approval and implement the fare change in March 2026.
In addition, we will continue to lobby the government and other relevant organizations for a simple and flexible revision of the current fare system, such as the notification of express charges for Shinkansen and introduction of a system that can timely respond to inflation, as well as for a review of the total cost method itself, which is currently used for fares. We will continue to lobby the government and other relevant organizations for a simple and flexible revision of the current fare system. In addition, we'll promote a price strategy implementable by notification such as review of charges. Next, I would like to talk about key lifestyle solutions. I'll explain the direction of our development plan in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area.
On March 27, Takanawa Gateway City had its town opening, and we have positioned the area from Hamamatsucho to Oimachi, including Takanawa Gateway City, as the greater Shinagawa Area, and we are promoting the development, integrating stations and towns with each area playing its own role. In this area, we hope to build a revenue base of approximately JPY 100 billion by around 2034. In the Yamanote Line, we're already studying development plans for Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Ikebukuro. Furthermore, within a 50 km radius of Tokyo, we are promoting attractive town development utilizing company-owned sites that center around terminal stations such as Yokohama, in particular the west side, Omiya, and Chiba, which will be integrated with the stations. In addition, we still have the potential to create various development sites by integrating and collaborating with mobility.
The Takanawa Gateway City I mentioned earlier was originally a train depot, but when the Ueno- Tokyo Line opened, we created 13 hectares of land for development by changing the depot. In this way, we believe that there is a pipeline to create a considerable amount of land for development in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area by consolidating projects in collaboration with mobility. For example, we're promoting the Funabashi Ichibacho project, which utilizes a 4.5-hectare former company housing site near Funabashi Station. By allocating the site to new housing projects in cooperation with Tokyu Land Corporation, we're thinking of gaining revenue of JPY 37 billion. In addition, we're considering the development of towns along the new lines, such as the Haneda Airport Access Line, which was mentioned earlier in conjunction with the opening of new lines. This is regarding the real estate rotation.
Last July, we established JR East Real Estate Company. The mission of this company is to speed up the development of company-owned sites and the acquisition and development of external properties, as I mentioned earlier. As for real estate sales, we have announced on this occasion that we are aiming for an average annual sales scale of JPY 20 billion-JPY 30 billion, and the scale of sales for the fiscal year March 2025 will be approximately JPY 50 billion. For fiscal year March 2026, we plan to further expand the sales scale to JPY 65 billion, and we will reinvest the cash generated by this expansion in growth areas. Our target for the asset management scale in the real estate fund business for the fiscal year March 2028 is JPY 400 billion on a cumulative basis, and we expect to achieve this goal by the end of this fiscal year.
In the next group management vision, which is currently being formulated, we're considering upwardly revising the targets for the scale of real estate sales and the scale of asset management in the real estate fund business. We will be able to provide you with concrete figures on this point in our management vision. Next, we're working on various ways to monetize our railroad assets, and the first service, the Shinkansen train logistics service called Hakobyun, was launched on April 18. We have been conducting various demonstration tests over the past three years, and as I mentioned earlier, we start full-scale commercialization in April and hope to grow this into a business worth JPY 10 billion per year in the future. As of the end of the previous fiscal year, we had installed more than 500 Multi-ecube, multifunctional baggage lockers, mainly in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area.
This is not just for the deposit, but as part of logistics, this business can gain new revenue value. We will gradually expand the installation area throughout Japan and aim to expand to 1,000 lockers in the fiscal year March 2027. In addition, we're also working with other railway operators in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area and various other facilities in the city, such as the first collaboration with a post office in Kamakura, and we have also begun to install the service at gas stations. We'd like to expand the scale of our business even further and develop it as a network business, not only in our business area, but also in Japan as a whole by Multi-ecube.
We're also working on Smart Health Stations that will provide medical services at stations along lifestyle traffic lines, and we're also working on optical fiber core wire leases that are being installed along railroad lines. We're hoping to make this a profitable business, even though the size may not be so significant. In any case, I mentioned as an example how we are trying to monetize our railroad assets, not only in the railroad sector, but also in various other areas. We hope to further proceed with this kind of business. Next, I would like to explain about Suica. In December last year, we announced what we call a Suica Renaissance to evolve Suica from a device for transportation and payment to a device for daily life.
We want to grow the business of the entire group through Suica, which has increased its value by boldly innovating people's lives by connecting it to all aspects of their lives, not just transportation and payments. In February of this year, we launched JRE ID, which integrates IDs that were previously dispersed among different services. We will gradually integrate the various IDs provided by our group, and together with promoting server centralization, we would like to create an environment that allows seamless use between services. The current IDs are separate, so when you enter one site and move to another site, you have to re-enter your ID once again, which is very inconvenient. This integration of IDs would make it easier for us to timely grasp various data of our customers and have a variety of business benefits.
As a hub to create synergies among the group's services, we're making Suica a platform for double operating revenues and profits in lifestyle solutions, as stated in the medium to long-term business growth strategy Beyond the Border. Inbound tourism is one of the major markets for the future, and we're now thinking about how to incorporate the scale of inbound tourism into our business, which is expected to increase to 60 million people by 2030, which is the government's target. Eastern Japan is rich in nature. In order to increase the demand for inbound travel from the Tokyo Metropolitan Area to the Tohoku and Joshinetsu regions, we will promote the attractiveness of Eastern Japan through operated sites and overseas bases, as well as through tie-ups with overseas influencers. We're planning to strengthen our PR activities.
We're planning to launch the Welcome Suica Mobile system in October this year, which will be linked to JR-EAST Train Reservation and enable reservations for the Shinkansen and Limited Express trains. This will enable customers who have the mobile version of Welcome Suica to obtain a variety of travel information, and with this system, they will be able to move around Japan seamlessly after arriving in Japan. The Welcome Suica Mobile itself was introduced on March 6, and it has been very well received by our overseas customers. The number of downloads of this app has almost reached 40,000. We intend to advertise this system so that it will be utilized in various situations. We would like to promote the use of this technology and skills.
We have already announced the development of new rolling stock and driverless operation of the Shinkansen, and in addition to technological innovations created by the group, we would like to take the lead in solving common problems faced by each railroad company. We have begun collaborating with other companies in the field of railroad technology and have begun studying the harmonization of rail car equipment and parts with the aim of strengthening the supply chain. We're also starting to collaborate on the realization of smart maintenance of electrical equipment and the mechanization and DX of construction work for the sustainable operation of railroads in the future. We already face a shortage of labor. The railroad sector was added to the specified skilled worker system last year, and we're now facing the challenge of developing human resources by utilizing this system.
We invite human resources from overseas, utilizing the specified skilled worker system, and implement new training focused on acquiring basic knowledge of railway technology and passing the specified skills assessment test this spring on a trial basis. We invited 25 engineers from overseas and trained them, and 24 of them passed the assessment test. We plan to officially start the program this fiscal year. Other railway operators are also showing strong interest in the program. We want to enhance the program in collaboration with other railway operators. I'd like to talk about the use of cash. First of all, I'd like to explain about capital investment. As I have already shown in the cash allocation chart, we plan to invest approximately JPY 3.9 trillion over the five years from fiscal year March 2024 to March 2028.
We will accelerate growth investment toward the openings of Takanawa Gateway City and OIMACHI TRACKS , reaching its peak in fiscal year March 2026. We will control investment for continuous business operation through selection and concentration to maintain and strengthen the revenue base. Finally, I'd like to talk about the shareholder revenues. Regarding shareholder returns, in the Move Up 2027 plans, we target a total return ratio of 40% and aim for a dividend payout ratio of 30%. Fiscal year March 2025, we plan to pay an annual dividend of JPY 60 per share, including an interim dividend of JPY 26 per share. By this, the payout ratio will be 30.3%. Dividends for fiscal year March 2026 are forecast to be JPY 62 per share, including an interim dividend of JPY 31. The dividend payout ratio will be 30.9%.
Although we are currently prioritizing cash for investment in growth, we intend to steadily return profits to shareholders while taking into account trends in capital management and business performance. This is an overview of our management strategy for the future. Thank you very much. My name is Ito. Thank you for your attendance. I would like to explain the highlights of fiscal year March 2025 and the plan for fiscal year March 2026. Please see page 20. This is about highlights of fiscal year March 2025 financial results. All segments achieved increased revenues and income. The operating revenues reached JPY 2,887.5 billion. This is the fourth consecutive year of revenue growth. All of the four segments saw increases in both revenue and income, including operating income. As for shareholder returns, the President mentioned earlier. Now, page 21 shows consolidated financial results, changes in operating income year on year.
We're now in the process of making a decision on how we will return profits to our shareholders. Operating income for the full year was JPY 376.7 billion, an increase of JPY 31.6 billion, or 9.2%. The largest part of the revenue was from JR Transportation revenues of JPY 92 billion, which includes JPY 10 billion from commuter pass users and JPY 82 billion from non-commuter pass users. Retail and services, real estate, hotel revenues also increased due to the increase in railroad usage. On the other hand, personnel expenses increased, especially at group companies. The maintenance expenses at JR East on a non-consolidated basis increased due to the impact of price hikes, and also cost of repairs increased after COVID-19 in order to improve safety. There is an increase in maintenance expenses of JR, which is about JPY 42.5 billion. These expenses decreased our profits.
On the other hand, since we're aggressively investing in growth, other expenses such as depreciation and amortization, taxes and dues , etc., also increased, and the operating income was JPY 376.7 billion. Now, if you look at page 23, we have the segment information. This is transportation. The Shinkansen and conventional lines are shown in the middle of the page, and the use of Shinkansen has increased, and the use of non-commuter passes has also increased on conventional lines, mainly in the Kanto area. The total revenue increase was approximately JPY 66.5 billion. This includes JPY 2.5 billion from the increase in revenue from the use of Green Cars on regular trains since the charge was raised. Also, the effect of the extension of Hokuriku Shinkansen to Tsuruga increased revenue by JPY 9 billion, JPY 1 billion more than planned.
Inbound revenue also increased by JPY 4.5 billion, including Shinkansen and conventional lines. The bottom left-hand side shows railway business passenger revenues result in plan, and the actual results show a 5.5% increase year on year. Next, on page 24, I'd like to talk about transportation relevant indicators. The lower left-hand corner shows the results of inbound revenue, which was slightly down from the plan, but almost in line with the plan at JPY 42.8 billion. We have a variety of tourism resources such as skiing, snow, and hot springs, and we have contents for inbound visitors. We'd like to continue to make efforts to attract inbound visitors for the next fiscal year as well. On page 25, I'd like to talk about retail and services. The retail business, especially the effect of the GRANSTA Renewal at Tokyo Station, has been particularly strong.
Operating income for the full year was up JPY 7.9 billion from the previous year. On page 26, we have real estate and hotels. Real estate, hotels, and offices have all performed well throughout the year, and the figures are, as you can see here. On page 27, you can see the relevant indicators for real estate and hotels. In terms of inbound, partly thanks to the effect of hotel ADR, inbound revenue exceeded the plan by about 20%, and the revenue was JPY 43.4 billion. The fair value of rental property in the upper right corner of the slide was about JPY 1.8 trillion on a preliminary basis at the end of this fiscal year, about JPY 200 billion increase year on year.
THE LINKPILLAR 1 in Takanawa, which we opened on March 27, is the reason for the increase in fair value of rental property, and the other properties are also due to the increase in market value and appraisal value. In addition, some properties have been reclassified to inventories of real estate for sale in order to accelerate the turnover or rotation business model. The net increase is about this amount you can see here. The vacancy rate for office space is 3.7%, which appears to have increased from 1.5% in the third quarter. One reason is that Takanawa THE LINKPILLAR 1's north building is fully occupied, while the south building is slightly vacant. This vacancy will be occupied from now on.
The vacancy rate for other properties has increased from 1.5% to 2% due to the timing of renovations, but overall, the vacancy rate is well under control. Compared to Tokyo's five central wards, we believe that we still have a great advantage. Page 28, this is the other segment. From the fourth quarter, the sign changed from operating income decrease to operating income increase. This is partly due to withdrawal from wind power generation. The expenses increase in the fourth quarter. However, the increase in the contract with a system company and the facility-related JR East Mechatronics business have had a positive effect on both revenue and profit. Page 30 shows the summary of cash flow, and we will continue to invest aggressively in growth until fiscal year 2025. Free cash flow was negative, JPY 51.1 billion in fiscal year 2024. Page 31 is key indicators.
The ROE grew by 0.5 percentage points into 8%. The ratio of EBITDA to net interest-bearing debt is six times. We're also controlling our financial discipline while making investments for growth. Now, if you will jump a little bit, the highlights of fiscal year March 2026 financial forecast is on page 37. This page shows the forecast for an overall increase in both revenues and income. In particular, the top line of operating revenue is expected to increase by 4.7% to JPY 3,023 billion. This figure is exactly above the record revenue of JPY 3,002 billion in 2018, and we're aiming for a record consolidated operating revenue for the group as a whole. All segments are also increasing revenue and profit. However, in the transportation business, we aim to increase transportation revenue by 10.2%, mainly through non-commuter usage, inbound travel, Chuo Line, Rapid Service, Green Cars, etc.
On the other hand, labor costs will increase. On the other hand, we expect profit to increase only slightly due to the continued increase in labor costs, price hikes, higher labor costs, etc. In the retail and services segment, both retail and advertising will grow, which will also contribute to profit growth. In the real estate and hotel segment, we'll expand real estate sales, and we still have some development work to do in Takanawa Gateway City this fiscal year. We expect the upfront cost for the development will increase. Furthermore, the depreciation expenses, etc., will increase. Despite revenues from sales of properties, we forecast they will grow slightly this fiscal year. We believe that Takanawa will contribute to profit from fiscal year 2026. We expect no major changes in other areas, but we expect an increase in both revenue and in income.
As for capital investment, we expect the total amount will be about JPY 900 billion, a 10% increase from the current fiscal year. The installation of automatic platform gates is almost at the turnaround points towards 2031. We will continue to accelerate the installation of automatic platform gates. In addition, we will continue to consistently spend JPY 35-40 billion per year on countermeasures against large-scale earthquakes. On page 38 is the forecast for the increase in consolidated operating income. We are projecting JPY 387 billion for the full year, and of the increase in revenues, we expect about JPY 38 billion in transportation. Basically, we expect commuter pass use to remain at the fiscal year 2024 level, so we plan to increase non-commuter pass use.
We expect about JPY 15 billion from increased use of railroads, JPY 9 billion from inbound travel, half from Shinkansen and half from conventional lines, and JPY 8 billion from Chuo Line, Rapid Service, Green Cars. We project the group companies to also grow revenues and expenses from the transportation segment will modestly increase. Therefore, its increase in income is likely to be small. The fiscal year March 2026 forecast by segment is described on page 39. The rest of the information is management strategies, etc. Please take a look at the detailed information there. Also on page 51 and after, there is action to implement management that is conscious of cost of capital and stock price, which was announced at the same time as the financial results yesterday. This is revised semi-annually.
On page 51, because the interest rate has been raised recently, we've been saying we recognize the cost of shareholders' equity in the range of 5-6%, but now we recognize the cost around 6-7%. The ROE was 8% this fiscal year, and we will continue our efforts to increase the equity spread. On page 52, since the disclosure of this fiscal year, we have included past change of ROIC or ROIC and ROA. ROA is based on the ratio of operating income to total assets, so the figures are almost similar to those of ROIC. The following is information on each of these companies on a standalone basis, and a little more detailed information on management policies in the first half of the report is attached. I hope you will not mind if I skip this one.