Japan has built the world’s first 3D-printed railway station in just six hours, replacing an ageing wooden structure.
The new train station, resembling a garden shed, was built in rural Arida, south of Osaka, with 3D-printed mortar moulds which were delivered by trucks to be assembled.
The assembly with cranes happened overnight, between the departure of the last train and the arrival of the first the next morning.
The finished structure stands 2.6m tall, spans an area of 100sqft, and is made from reinforced concrete. The white structure is adorned with mandarin orange and a scabbardfish – some of the specialties of Arida – to add to its minimalist design.
West Japan Railway Company (JR West) said the station that was completed last month is the first of its kind in the world in Arida, a local fishing port known for its breathtaking mountain range.
Dealing with the challenges of a shrinking workforce due to the ageing society and fewer passengers on the rural routes, the traditional one would have taken more than two months to complete and would have been at double the cost, it said.
Serendix, the Japanese housing firm that worked with West Japan Railway on the project, said the new structure consists of four parts, including the roof and walls, and is earthquake-resistant, similar to that of reinforced concrete houses.
While the building itself is finished, things like ticket machines and card readers are still being installed, and it’s expected to open to the public in July 2025.
After the interior of the structure is finished and fitted with a ticket machine, the wooden structure that has served for more than 75 years will be torn down.
“Normally, it takes about two months to construct a station building of the same scale, so we felt that the speed was a great advantage,” a railway official said when it was built in March end.
The process of printing parts and reinforcing them with concrete took seven days in a factory in Kumamoto Prefecture. These were then transported about 800km away on 24 March to be put together with the help of a crane.
Residents of the area gathered to watch the unique construction that night, and one of them spoke of bittersweet feelings.
Toshifumi Norimatsu, 56, told the New York Times that he was “a little sad about the old station being taken down”.
“But I would be happy if this station could become a pioneer and benefit other stations.”
The small, unstaffed Hatsushima Station serves the Kisei Line, which runs along the Kii Peninsula. It was built in 1938, but the station was electrified only in 1978.
Like other rural railway stations, its usage declined between 1987 and 2023. The Hatsushima station also serves as a gateway to Jinoshima, an uninhabitable island where locals go for just swimming and camping.
