Reshaping of Joban Railways
The Reshaping of Joban Railways was a plan outlined by Kowloon-Canton Railway Board member and Minister for Transport, Richard Beeching, to rationalise the Joban railway network by almost 1000 kilometres. Railways that were deemed unprofitable or overlapping were demoted to freight branches only or were completely demolished. The booklet contains a summary of lines to be closed and the reasons given.
Factors
The criterion for the specified local lines were:
Lines that are too short and serve little to no purporse
Lines that are overlapping with more than 3 lines paralelling the same area
Lines that incur a debt equal to or more than 500% of yearly income
Lines that have been slated for abandonment due to disrepair
Lines that require repairs costing greater than 6 years of income of the line
Lines that run service to areas suffering from Rural-Urban migration with at least 60% population loss trends
Lines with less than 1 service a day
Freight branches that serve single industries
The criterion for stations were to be judged on a case-by-case basis.
Outrage
Taken from the news report of that day:
"This has enraged multiple towns such as Aki and Esplande, Reimu since the only serving transport has been losing money ever since they were built, thus the public has been protesting at Fuka KCR Office, to no avail, MPs of the towns will be attending the meeting at City Hall next week to discuss about railways that will be closed, it is expected over 1000 miles of track will be removed and will be replaced by a efficient bus service."
- Sorano Times, 11 Febuary 2022
Specified Local Lines
The Specified Local Lines was a list of lines that were slated for closure, and to either be closed completely or replaced with a bus service.
| Name | Company | CJK | Reason | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ome Line | Harmony Rail Transit (Joban) | 青梅線 | "The section from Ome to South Beach can no longer be serviced by cross-border train services, and therefore traffic on the line has fallen to less than 1 service per day. The line's operating costs are 800% of income, and so this line has been slated for demolition. A replacement bus service is not advised, as there is little to no traffic in the region." | Scrapped |
| Mei Tao Branch Line | Harmony Rail Transit (Joban) | 梅萄支線 | "The branch line is the second-shortest line on the network, being only 700m. It is highly reccomended that the line be scrapped." | Converted into Light Rail |
| Keio Line | KCR | 京王線 | "The Keio Line is an extremely short branch line, with an entire journey taking 4 minutes on it's furthest termini. All the stations have been deemed to be within walking distance of the main Joestu Line. The branch line of the Keio Line, the Keio East Line, is worse still, with both ends of the single-track line being less than 5 minutes walk from each other. It is therefore the reccomendation that the line be scrapped. | As of September 2022, discussions are still going on between KCR and the local authorities. |
| Sakuya Line | KCR | 咲夜線 | "The Sakuya Line links the village of Reimu to the main Joestu Line. However, Reimu Village has lost more than 50% of it's population due to rural-urban migration, and the trend seems to be speeding up. Therefore, it is estimated that operating costs for the line will exceed 500% of the yearly income within the next 2 years, and therefore should be scrapped without delay." | As of September 2022, discussions are still going on between KCR and the local authorities. |
| Aozora Line | KCR | 青空線 | "The Aozora Line has fallen into disrepair due to the state of much of the infrastructure. There are several rusted bridges and enbankments that will require repairs, and the cost is estimated to be greater than 6 years of income of the line. It is therefore recommended that the line not be repaired, and instead abandoned." | With the terminating of the Tohoku Shinkansen at Touhou, Touhou became a major transport hub, and traffic on the Aozora Line increased significanty. Repairs were conducted and the line was not scrapped. |
| Iizuna Line | Harmony Rail Transit (Lamtsu) | 飯綱線 | "The Iizuna Line is paralled by the Mihara Line, the Yurakucho Line and the Rinkai Line. The heaviest traffic on the line was between Kata and Furudono,when the temporary tracks for the Seiyo and Lamtsu Main Lines ran via that way. However, the lines have since been moved, and traffic on the line caps out at 12%. The line runs an operating deficit of close to 300% of it's income." | The Iizuna Line was scrapped between Furudono and Yellowstones. However, the remaining portion of the line was still used by Ai-Liner services and Ome Heritage Line services. |
| Hakone Line | Harmony Rail Transit (Lamtsu) | 箱根線 | "The Hakone Line serves a population of 500, and the maintinance and repair costs of Otaki Station and the connecting tunnel to Tai Hing Shinkansen Station are not worth the cost." | Scrapped, excluding Hakone Station |
| Mihara Freight Line | Harmony Rail Transit (Lamtsu) | 三原貨物線 | "The Mihara Freight Line, and by extension, the Vtuber Park Line, see little traffic excluding Ai-Liner services...it is strongly reccomended for the express services to be diverted to the Mihara Line and the freight line closed." | Abandoned |
| Misato Freight Line | Harmony Rail Transit (Lamtsu) | 三郷貨物線 | "The Misato Freight Line paralells the Mihara Line, bypassing Misato Station en-route to Mihara. However, the Ome Line extension passes via the coast, allowing freight directly to the port. It is reccomended that the line be scrapped." | Scrapped |
| Godo Line | Nantetsu | 神戸線 | "The Godo Line serves 2 stations within walking distance of Ojika...it is strongly reccomended that the line be replaced with a pedestrian pathway. The line suffers a loss of 1200% of it's profit." | Abandoned |
| Vtuber Park APM | LRT | "The Vtuber Park APM serves little more than an irrelavant amusement park, and is therefore strongly reccomended that it is removed as fast as possible. |
Scrapped |
Stations
| Station | Line | Company | Reason | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sora | Ome Line | Harmony Rail Transit (Lamtsu) | "Sora Station is but 100m from Misato...it makes no sense for 2 stations to be so close together." | Converted for Heritage use |
| Hakone | Hakone Line | Harmony Rail Transit (Lamtsu) | "Hakone Station is but 200m from Tai Hing Forest...Therefore the railroad portion should be closed." | Still in operation for Hakone Express |
| Kata Freight Terminal | Misato Freight Line | Harmony Rail Transit (Lamtsu) | "Kata Freight Terminal will see little traffic after the new western platforms are built, and it is therefore reccomended that the northern terminal be closed along with the Misato Freight Line." | Preserved |