Public-private railway fully reopens in Kumamoto six years after flooding

Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Pref. – Kumagawa Railroad, a public-private railway operator in Kumamoto Prefecture, fully resumed service on Sunday, about six years and two months after the railway was heavily damaged in the July 2020 Kumamoto rain disaster.

The 6-kilometer section between Hitoyoshi Onsen Station in the city of Hitoyoshi and Higo Nishinomura Station in the town of Nishiki has reopened after restoration work was completed.

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

During a reopening ceremony at Hitoyoshi Onsen Station on Sunday, Kumamoto Gov. 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.

“The railway is beloved by the people of Hitoyoshi, so I’m very happy to see it reopened,” Osaki said. “I hope it will continue forever.”

In the 2020 rain disaster, the Kuma River overflowed, sweeping away a bridge designated as a cultural treasure and flooding all five train cars of Kumagawa Railroad.