January 13, 2016 at 10:36 pm

Remote Train Station in Japan Remains Open So Student Can Go to School

by twistedsifter

Remote Train Station in Japan Remains Open So Student Can Go to School (2)

 

At the remote Kyu-Shirataki train station in Hokkaido, Japan you will find only one regular passenger; a high-school girl going to and from class.

Japan Railways, which runs the line, has committed to continue operating the line until March, when the fiscal year ends and the student is expected to graduate.

 

Remote Train Station in Japan Remains Open So Student Can Go to School (4)

 

According to CityLab:

Ridership at the Kyu-Shirataki station and a few neighboring ones had dramatically fallen because of the remote location, and freight service had ended there as well. But students depend on the train for transit, and parents asked that the company keep the station open for their children.
 
Japan’s impressively efficient high-speed rails have continued to expand to the outskirts of the country, rendering many of Japan’s older, low-tech railways obsolete. Kyu-Shirataki station, for example, sits in the town of Engaru in a rural part of Hokkaido, which lost at least 20 rail lines in the past few decades. [source]

 

Remote Train Station in Japan Remains Open So Student Can Go to School (3)

 

Sources

CityLab: Japan Keeps This Train Station Running for Just One Regular Passenger
CCTV News on Facebook
@Kikou9186 on Twitter
@foxnumber6 on Twitter

 

Remote Train Station in Japan Remains Open So Student Can Go to School (1)