from maxso216@ani.social to japanesetrains@lemmy.world on 20 Sep 17:44
https://ani.social/post/20267323
Choshi Electric railway is a railway in rural Chiba. Their current rolling stock are (two) 2000 series and (one) 3000 series, which are second-hand trains from Iyo Railway, and also (one) 22000 series which is second-hand train from Nankai Railway. It operates a 6.4 km long railway, which is quite short. As the railway cover rural area, the ridership is low and facing financial crisis, since the beginning of operation. (which is obvious as it is a company to takeover the railway which was initially for sightseeing but had low ridership before takeover)
To improve the financial situation, they are now making rice crackers (ぬれ煎餅), “badly tasted stick (?)” (まずい棒) and more to cover the cost, and surprisingly, it is quite effective. The income from making these snack covers 80% of the total income, making the railway’s operations more sustainable. You can purchase those from Choshi station, railway station at JR East, Keisei Railway and Chichibu Railway, and also Choushimaru in Narita Airport.
Speaking of which, some of the railway stations along the route is quite unique;
Kannon station
<img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Kannon_Station_20120817.jpg">
Kimigahama Station (do they run out of money when they build this station?)
Inubo Station
yummy demonstration of making ぬれ煎餅
22000 series
2000 series
While the financial situation is still alarming, the story of it has made into a film (トモシビ-銚子電鉄の小さな奇蹟), and I have high hope that the railway would survive.
Is train feasible for rural area where ridership is low? Operating a railway company that relies solely on passenger transportation is hard; however, integrating rail services with another business sector can be a much better idea. You can see that private railway company in Japan would setup departure store at their terminal, and some would even operate hotel and sell property. A railway company is not only just railway, but a way to connect another business and seek profit.
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