JR East announced that it will report the discontinuation of railroad operations between Kururi Station and Joso Kameyama Station on the Kururi Line during FY2025.
In the above section, which is the end of the Kururi Line, the average number of passengers per day (passenger kilometers transported in each fiscal year ÷ operating kilometers ÷ number of operating days) was 55 as of FY2021. The company has stated that the benefits of mass transit by rail cannot be realized, and that a shift to a transit system centered on buses would be optimal from the 2020s onward.
This time, following discussions with the local governments along the route and opinions expressed at the residents’ explanatory meeting, a plan to operate an alternative bus service has been finalized, and the prospect of a conversion has been established, so the formal discontinuation procedure was decided. JR East will bear the operation and operation costs of the replacement bus for 18 years.
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