For years, the maintenance of the rural railway stations and underutilized in Japan represented a complex and expensive challenge. In many areas of the country, the aging of the population and migration to large urban centers have difficulty justify significant investments in unhappy infrastructures. To the point that, over time, these structures have received a specific name: “Hikyō stations”.
A hikyō station It is a small railway stop located in isolated areas, far from the main inhabited centers. Although it is often immersed in picturesque landscapes and rich in nostalgic charm, these stations are used by a minimum number of passengers and are therefore difficult to maintain. Precisely for these characteristics, they represent the ideal context for experimenting innovative and economic solutions such as 3D printing.
The hikyō stations find new life thanks to technology
It is in this scenario that the pioneering project of Hatsushimain the Prefecture of Wakayama: the First railway station in the world entirely made with 3D printing. The project, the result of the collaboration between the West Japan Railway Company (Jr West)the design studio Neuob and the startup Serendixspecialized in low -cost houses printed in 3D, made it possible to replace an old 75 -year -old shelter with a modern and highly resistant structure.
The new, compact and robust station is designed to resist earthquakes and bad weather. Although of small size, it stands out for its efficiency, for the minimum use of resources and for the speed with which it was built: Less than six hours in total.
How a 3D printed station is born
The construction process began to Kumamotowhere the components of the structure were printed using one Reinforced cement mortar with steel. The press requested about seven daysafter which the prefabricated parts were transported beyond 800 km up to the locality of Arida.
The assembly took place in the night time slotbetween the departure of the last train and the arrival of the first in the morning. From 23:57, a team of workers positioned the four prefabricated sections with the help of crane, completing the assembly in just two hours. The structure was then set with metal bars And Industrial adhesivesconcluding the work By 5:45 in the morning.
The result is a building of about 2.6 meters highwhich occupies a little over 9 square metersand also presents Decorative elements in reliefdepicting Mandarins and saber fishcultural symbols of the area. As he explained Hiroshi Otafounder of Neuob,
We wanted to represent local specialties to enhance the territory, a detail made possible only thanks to the versatility of 3D printing.
The complete function of the station, with the installation of tickets for tickets and digital readers, is scheduled for July 2025.
An example for the world
According to Serendix spokespersons, creating a similar structure with traditional methods would have requested One or two months of work And decidedly higher costs.
In Japan, the lack of labor in the construction sector is causing an exponential increase in costs. 3D printing instead allows quick, cheap and large -scale replicable execution.
However, the potential of technology is not limited to railway stations. In countries such as Japan, South Korea or Polandwhere many public infrastructures are now obsolete and difficult to maintain, this innovative solution could completely transform the management of public servicesespecially in the less accessible areas.
Even in large cities, where the lack of essential services directly affects the quality of life, 3D printing can make a difference. This is the case, for example, of Dhakacapital of Bangladesh, with over 20 million inhabitants but less than 200 public bathrooms. In similar contexts, the speed of construction and low cost of 3D printed structures can represent a real social revolution.
Japan, with the Hatsushima station, shows the world a concrete, economic and sustainable path to modernize infrastructures. A model that, if adopted on a larger scale, could have a significant impact also in Europe and in many areas in development.
