Local Japanese Railway Offers Chances to Stream Original Music

Funahashi, Toyama Pref., May 12 (Jiji Press)--A local railway operator in central Japan has been selling the right for people to have their originally created music played in its trains, as part of local revitalization efforts.

In a project launched in response to a request from a related local municipality for new tourism resources, Toyama Chihou Tetsudou Inc., based in the city of Toyama, the capital of the namesake prefecture, has been streaming since May 1 a piano piece composed by a 27-year-old Tokyoite when its trains arrive at Etchu-Funahashi Station in the village of Funahashi.

Toyama Chihou Tetsudou offers its train services as transportation for workers, students and tourists, with one of its lines linking the city of Toyama and the Unazuki Onsen hot spring resort in the eastern part of the prefecture.

Falls in the number of passengers and the aging of facilities have weighed on the train operator in recent years, causing the company's railway business to suffer a net loss of about 838 million yen in fiscal 2024. The situation has led to a proposal for scrapping some sections of the lines. The railway operator and seven municipalities, including Funahashi, are holding discussions.

A bedroom community for the city of Toyama, Funahashi has a population of about 3,300. With the total area of some 3.47 square kilometers, it is the smallest village in Japan. Toyama Chihou Tetsudou provides the only public transportation connecting the tiny village and the neighboring prefectural capital.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]