Yesterday (the 15th), JR announced a “separation of infrastructure and operation” system for eight unprofitable railway lines, where the municipalities along the lines would bear the cost of maintenance and management. Various opinions were heard from the municipalities along the lines. Mukawa Town Mayor Naoshi Tochimaru: “It is one of the important means of transportation, so it should not easily lead to a decrease in its current convenience.”
At the regular general meeting of the “Hokkaido Association of Towns and Villages” held at a hotel in Sapporo, the financial improvement measures announced by JR yesterday were also discussed. There are eight sections known as “yellow lines” that are operating at a large deficit and are difficult to maintain on their own.
They account for about 40% of JR Hokkaido’s railway lines. JR, which is being asked by the government to make drastic improvements to its management, announced that it will begin discussions with the municipalities along the “yellow lines.” In addition to a “separation of infrastructure and operation” system in which JR will operate the lines and the municipalities will be responsible for the maintenance and management of the tracks and equipment, they will also consider reviewing the transportation system by reducing the number of trains with few passengers.
The Soya Line is one of the “yellow lines.” Otoineppu Station on this line is located in a heavy snowfall area. JR Hokkaido wants local governments to handle tasks such as snow removal at level crossings, but the mayor of Otoineppu Village said… “I think it’s a request that’s a little hard to accept. I feel like they’re simply dumping the ongoing issues onto local governments.” The Muroran Line also has a “yellow line section,” and because it intersects with the Sekisho Line, it’s also used as a transfer point for those heading towards Chitose. Abira Town Mayor Oikawa said, “Even on town roads, there’s a shortage of operators, so we need to have a proper discussion about what we can do, what we can cooperate on.”
Kitami City Mayor Tsuji Naotaka indicated that discussions should be advanced not only by local governments along the “yellow line section,” but by the entire prefecture and beyond. Kitami City Mayor Tsuji Naotaka said, “As a premise for discussion, it’s necessary to have the national government show us its position.” JR Hokkaido is proceeding with discussions on a line-by-line basis and hopes to finalize fundamental improvement measures by the end of this fiscal year.
