Public-Private Rail Fully Reopens in Kumamoto 6 Years after Disaster
Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Pref., Sept. 20 (Jiji Press)--Kumagawa Railroad Co., a public-private railway operator in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kumamoto, fully resumed service on Sunday, about six years and two months after the railway was heavily damaged in the July 2020 Kumamoto rain disaster. On the day, the 6-kilometer section between Hitoyoshi Onsen Station in the city of Hitoyoshi ...
Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture, saw the full reopening of the Kumagawa Railroad Co. railway on Sunday, marking six years and two months since the railway suffered severe damage in the July 2020 rain disaster. The 6-kilometer stretch between Hitoyoshi Onsen Station in Hitoyoshi city and Higo Nishinomura Station in Nishiki town reopened after restoration work was completed.
The railway stretches about 25 kilometers from Hitoyoshi Onsen Station to Yunomae Station in Yunomae town. Approximately 80% of its riders are local high school students. Governor Takashi Kimura attended a reopening ceremony at Hitoyoshi Onsen Station on Sunday, stating that the railway's restoration symbolizes the revival and development of the Hitoyoshi-Kuma region and provides hope to those impacted by a massive earthquake in July 2020.
At 9:50 a.m., the commemorative train departed from the station, with Takato Osaki, a 12-year-old local elementary school student, serving as the train's signal giver and a high school student as the onboard announcer.
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