Many Counties Have Railway Lines,

that are unprofitable, 

photograph Network Rail, in the UK way back in the 1960s Dr Richard Beeching, Chairman of the British Railways Board wielded his axe, closing thousands of miles of railway and hundreds of stations which were unprofitable, Japan has a similar problem, many small train lines across Japan are a dying breed, one of those is the Koumi Line, which connects Kobuchizawa Station in Yamanashi with Komoro Station in Nagano, in an attempt to boost ridership and make up their budget deficit, the train has turned its advertisement space into a photo gallery and is hosting an in-car photo exhibition of the train submitted by users and train enthusiasts, what a brilliant idea, below are some of the photographs taken,

the winning photograph of the Koumi Line photo contest,

a train rider examines the winning photos

photo by huilan27

photo by 09_tetsu

photo by tomotomo_5656, the picturesque line, despite its views of mountains and rolling rice paddies, has been a victim of urbanization and depopulation particularly in rural areas of Japan, winning entries from the Koumi Line Photo Contest will be on view, within the cars of the train itself, now through the end of Golden Week: May 9, 2023. Out of roughly 80 entries, a committee selected 20 to be on display within the space typically reserved for advertising, transforming the train cars into a gallery, so if you are lucky enough to be in Japan and are looking for a unique activity that’s way off the beaten track, make your way to the Koumi Line to enjoy the views out the window but also in the car, would this idea have saved Beechings Axe as it was known? I doubt it, but what a neat idea to try and save a railway line.