Wooden train stations in Shikoku set for demolition; maintenance too expensive due to declining ridership

TOKUSHIMA/KOCHI — Shikoku Railway Co. (JR Shikoku), which has long struggled with an economic downturn, is continuing to demolish its old wooden station buildings and replace them with simpler ones that more closely resemble bus stops.

To reduce maintenance costs, the company has built 13 such stations so far. Some residents have opposed the demolition of the old station buildings, which have served as local landmarks and given travelers a sense of being on a journey.

In 2022, a station building dating from 1936 was demolished and replaced with a new aluminum structure at Chuden Station in Komatsushima, Tokushima Prefecture. The station on the Mugi Line now has an area of ​​just 10.8 square meters and is equipped with only two benches and a ticket machine.

Last budget year, an average of 826 passengers used the station per day. The station is mainly used in the mornings and evenings by students and others travelling to school or work.

An 18-year-old high school girl who uses the station to go to school spoke about the inconvenience of the small station.

“On rainy days we can’t all get in, so many people stand outside with umbrellas waiting for the train,” she said.

JR Shikoku is in a difficult situation. Rail revenues peaked at ¥37.065 billion in fiscal 1991 and have been declining steadily since then, falling to ¥22.334 billion in fiscal 2023. The company has not been profitable since 1987, when the former Japan National Railways was split and privatized to create it.

The railway company has been working to streamline operations by reducing staff costs, including making 86% of stations unmanned and having about 60% of regular trains manned by one person.

Simplification of station buildings began in fiscal 2014. Large-scale repairs to stations cost several million yen, and earthquake resistance is also needed, costing another ¥10 million. The company estimates that about 70 stations, or nearly 30% of the total, will need to be simplified in the future.

Residents oppose relocation

Because station buildings are the ‘face of the community’, opposition among local residents has grown.

JR Shikoku planned to simplify Awa-Kamo Station in Higashi-Miyoshi, Tokushima Prefecture, because the station building is outdated. The station is known for its Western-style building with a triangular roof.

When the company notified the local government of its intention in January 2022, residents started a petition against the move. They argued that simplifying the station could leave the access road to the city deserted and lifeless, so they submitted 850 signatures to the city government.

After repeated discussions with JR Shikoku, the local government decided that it would be difficult to maintain the station building. JR Shikoku will bear the cost of dismantling it, and the city will build a new wooden station building of about 45 square meters, with toilets and an interaction area, at a cost of about ¥16 million.

In 2016, the Nishi-Sakawa Station building on the Dosan Line was transferred to the city government of Sakawa in Kochi Prefecture from JR Shikoku. The city government spent about ¥16 million to make it earthquake-proof and renovate it. The 100-year-old building will house a facility to promote the nearby clear Niyodo River basin, known as “Niyodo Blue”.

The station building was used on a poster promoting the JR Group’s “Seishun 18 Ticket”, a pass that allows unlimited travel on regular trains throughout Japan.

“We are pleased to be able to preserve the station building as a symbol of the community,” a city official said.

Kosuke Miyazaki, a professor at the National Institute of Technology of Kagawa College, said the simplification of the station building was inevitable due to JR Shikoku’s financial situation.

“However, if the station building loses its function as a space for people to gather and interact, the area around the station can become abandoned. The railway line can end up in a vicious circle where people no longer use the station.”

Miyazaki calls on both the municipal government and the railway companies to find ways to attract people to the station building.