Loading
Search
▼ Quake-hit Railway Striving to Win Back Passengers
- Category:Event
MINAMIASO, Kumamoto (Jiji Press) — A local railway operator in Kumamoto Prefecture is working hard to win back passengers by taking various new steps about 16 months after a series of powerful earthquakes that hit the southwestern Japan prefecture.
Minami-aso Railway Co., a public-private third-sector firm, has still been unable to fully resume the operations of its 17.7-kilometer railway services.“We hope people will come and enjoy a beautiful summer in the Aso region,” a company official said.
Operations of the railway, which links Takamori Station in the town of Takamori and Tateno Station in the village of Minamiaso, both in the prefecture, were suspended entirely soon after the April 2016 quakes partly because some of the tracks were washed away due to landslides triggered by the temblors.
The 7.1-kilometer section between Takamori Station and Nakamatsu Station went back into service some three months after the earthquakes. But the remaining 10.6-kilometer section between Nakamatsu and Tateno stations remains cut off.
The company is hoping to put the line fully back to operation as soon as possible. But that will take at least five years, officials said. Currently, three daily round-trip services are offered on the Takamori-Nakamatsu section on weekdays and four on weekends and public holidays.
The local railway operator fell into the red in fiscal 2016, with its transport business revenue plunging to a seventh of the level before the quakes.
“The earthquakes struck just as the number of passengers from abroad was increasing,” said Ryuichi Nakagawa, head of Minami-aso Railway’s administrative department.
The red ink in fiscal 2016 was small thanks to donations from across Japan, but the company’s business is tough in fiscal 2017, he said.
To attract public attention and lure back passengers, the company is taking various measures, including launching a train decorated with popular cartoon characters such as “Doraemon” in cooperation with publishing firms and selling the right to fully reserve a train in online auctions.
Also as part of its revival efforts, Minami-aso Railway is selling sets of picture postcards and ekiben boxed meals for passengers jointly produced by university students and local restaurants.
According to Nakagawa, up to some 300 people used the railway a day on holidays this summer. But the figure was far lower than the daily average of 700 passengers in July-August 2015.
During the summer vacation season, passengers can enjoy magnificent views of nature from a tramcar operated on the line. Blueberry picking and other leisure activities are available along the line.
“Enjoy the views of beautiful nature from the train and sightseeing along the line,” Nakagawa said.
The railway, the former Takamori Line of the now-defunct Japanese National Railways, went into service in 1986. Five municipalities in the prefecture, including Takamori and Minamiaso, are investors in Minami-aso Railway.
The number of passengers on the railway declined dramatically to 40,000 in fiscal 2016 from some 260,000 in the previous year, mainly because Tateno Station, which offers a link to the Hohi Main Line of Kyushu Railway Co. , or JR Kyushu, remains closed.
Before the quakes, many visitors, including those from the city of Kumamoto, the capital of the prefecture, transferred to the Minami-aso Railway line from the JR Kyushu line at Tateno Station.
Amid the severe business environment, the railway operator cut the number of its employees from 15 to eight.
Minami-aso Railway Co., a public-private third-sector firm, has still been unable to fully resume the operations of its 17.7-kilometer railway services.“We hope people will come and enjoy a beautiful summer in the Aso region,” a company official said.
Operations of the railway, which links Takamori Station in the town of Takamori and Tateno Station in the village of Minamiaso, both in the prefecture, were suspended entirely soon after the April 2016 quakes partly because some of the tracks were washed away due to landslides triggered by the temblors.
The 7.1-kilometer section between Takamori Station and Nakamatsu Station went back into service some three months after the earthquakes. But the remaining 10.6-kilometer section between Nakamatsu and Tateno stations remains cut off.
The company is hoping to put the line fully back to operation as soon as possible. But that will take at least five years, officials said. Currently, three daily round-trip services are offered on the Takamori-Nakamatsu section on weekdays and four on weekends and public holidays.
The local railway operator fell into the red in fiscal 2016, with its transport business revenue plunging to a seventh of the level before the quakes.
“The earthquakes struck just as the number of passengers from abroad was increasing,” said Ryuichi Nakagawa, head of Minami-aso Railway’s administrative department.
The red ink in fiscal 2016 was small thanks to donations from across Japan, but the company’s business is tough in fiscal 2017, he said.
To attract public attention and lure back passengers, the company is taking various measures, including launching a train decorated with popular cartoon characters such as “Doraemon” in cooperation with publishing firms and selling the right to fully reserve a train in online auctions.
Also as part of its revival efforts, Minami-aso Railway is selling sets of picture postcards and ekiben boxed meals for passengers jointly produced by university students and local restaurants.
According to Nakagawa, up to some 300 people used the railway a day on holidays this summer. But the figure was far lower than the daily average of 700 passengers in July-August 2015.
During the summer vacation season, passengers can enjoy magnificent views of nature from a tramcar operated on the line. Blueberry picking and other leisure activities are available along the line.
“Enjoy the views of beautiful nature from the train and sightseeing along the line,” Nakagawa said.
The railway, the former Takamori Line of the now-defunct Japanese National Railways, went into service in 1986. Five municipalities in the prefecture, including Takamori and Minamiaso, are investors in Minami-aso Railway.
The number of passengers on the railway declined dramatically to 40,000 in fiscal 2016 from some 260,000 in the previous year, mainly because Tateno Station, which offers a link to the Hohi Main Line of Kyushu Railway Co. , or JR Kyushu, remains closed.
Before the quakes, many visitors, including those from the city of Kumamoto, the capital of the prefecture, transferred to the Minami-aso Railway line from the JR Kyushu line at Tateno Station.
Amid the severe business environment, the railway operator cut the number of its employees from 15 to eight.
- August 19, 2017
- Comment (0)
- Trackback(0)