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 and Higo Nishinomura Station in the town of Nishiki reopened after restoration work had been completed.

The regional railway runs about 25 km between Hitoyoshi Onsen Station and Yunomae Station in the town of Yunomae. About 80 pct of its users are local high school students.

During a reopening ceremony at Hitoyoshi Onsen Station on Sunday, Kumamoto Governor Takashi Kimura said that the railway's restoration is "a symbol of the revival and development of the Hitoyoshi-Kuma region" and offers hope to those affected by a massive earthquake in July this year.

At 9:50 a.m., a commemorative train departed from the station after Takato Osaki, a 12-year-old local elementary school student, gave the go signal. A high school student served as the onboard announcer.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]