Like Japan built a 3D printed railway station in 6 hours

In the six hours between the departure of the last train of the night and the arrival of the first in the morning, the workers in rural Japan built a completely new railway station. It will replace a significantly larger wooden structure that served commuters in this remote community for over 75 years.

The members of the new station were printed in 3D elsewhere and assembled on site last month, in what railway operators say is a world first. It might seem more like a refuge than a station, but building one in the traditional way would have required more than two months and cost the double, according to the West Japan Railway Company.

While the Japanese population ages and its workforce is reduced, the maintenance of railway infrastructures, including the buildings of obsolete stations, is a growing problem for railway operators. The rural stations with a decreased number of users have represented a particular challenge.

The new station, Hatsushima, is located in a quiet seaside town that is part of Arida, a city of 25,000 populations in the prefecture of Wakayama, which borders on two popular tourist destinations, the prefectures of Osaka and Nara. The station, served by a single line with trains that run from one or three times per hour, serves about 530 knights per day.

Yui Nisino, 19 years old, uses it every day for his journey at the University. He said he was surprised when he heard for the first time that the first 3D printed station building in the world would be built here.

“Looking at it, the work is progressing at a speed that would be impossible with normal construction,” he said. “I hope they can make more buildings with 3D printing technology.”

Serendix, the construction company that West Japan Railway has hired for the project, said that printing the parts and strengthening them with concrete took seven days.

The press was performed in a factory in the prefecture of Kumamoto on the south -western island of Kyushu. The parties left the factory on the morning of March 24 to be transported to about 500 miles north –ast of the road to Hatsushima station.

“Normally, the construction takes place for several months while the trains do not work every night,” said Kunihiro Handa, co-founder of Serendix. The construction works near the commercial lines are subject to rigid restrictions and are usually performed during the night so as not to interrupt the times.

While the trucks that transported the 3D printed parts began to enter a Tuesday evening at the end of March, several dozen residents gathered to look at the single initiative of its kind, in a place deeply familiar to them.

So, after the last train moved away at 11:57 pm, the workers committed themselves to building the new station.

In less than six hours, the pre -starly parts have been assembled, made of a special mortar. They were delivered on separate trucks and a large crane was used to lift each of where the workers were putting them together, a few meters from the old station.

The new station, which measures just over 100 square feet, was completed before the first train arrived at 5:45 is a minimalist white building, with drawings that include a mandarin orange and a madness, arid specialty.

He still needed internal work, as well as equipment such as ticket offices and readers of transport cards. West Japan Railway said he expected to open the new building for use in July.

Railways officials say that the monsters are hoping for the service as the service can be kept in remote locations with new technologies and less workers.

“We believe that the meaning of this project lies in the fact that the total number of people required will be significantly reduced,” said Ryo Kawamoto, president of Jr West Innovations, a risk capital unit of the railway operator.

The wooden building that the new station will replace was completed in 1948. Since 2018 it has been automated, like many smaller stations in Japan.

Toshifumi Norimatsu, 56 years old, who manages the post office a few hundred meters away, has had bittersweet feelings for the new building.

“I’m a little sad for the old station that is removed,” he said. “But I would be happy if this station could become a pioneer and benefit from other stations.”