In Japan, there's a certain train station where trains make a stop in order to pick up a school girl.
The trains makes their stop at Kyu-Shirataki train station, located in Hokkaido, before the kid heads to school and after school when she goes home. Japan Railways decided to keep using the train station to pick her up.
Due to the remote area, the number of train rides and freight services have decreased in the train station in Kyu-Shirataki as well as other nearby locations.
Regardless, concerned citizens requested the train operators to continue sending trains to pick up their children so that they will be able to go to school. The train company honoured the request but will continue to operate the train stations until March. The train station will also be discontinued once the young girl graduates.
This has caught the attention of people from other areas and they admire the Japanese government for taking an extra mile for its citizens. They find it relieving that everyone is being taken cared of no matter who they are or how far from the city they live.
However, this hints the population problems in not only in rural areas but in the country as a whole. Japan is expected to struggle in the future with regards to housing and employment due to the country's lowest birthrate to date, current population having more adults than kids, and a forecast that the country will lose 1/3 of its population 40 years later.
All of these changes are sure to have a great impact in the railroad operations in the coming years. In fact, about 20 rail lines have already been rendered obsolete in the past decades.
The story of the girl and the train is a reminder of Japan's dedicated service to its people despite its subtle population crises.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
