Once there was a lil’ railroad called the Minami Aso Tetsudo that connected Takamori with the JR line at Tateno so that high school students and company workers could get to where they needed to be.
Then the big bad quakes came along and took out not only their bridge across Shirakawa but also much of their track. So that was the end of that - the local folks have had to rely on buses since then.
But this is not any average lil’ railroad. No: It is the lil’ railroad that could. It said, “Hey, even if we don’t have a bridge to connect to Tateno and over half of our rail line is damaged, we can make do with what we have!” So it did. On July 31, Minami Aso Tetsudo reopened a 7.1 kilometer route between its terminus in Takamori and a central station, Nakamatsu, mostly to be used by tourists and as a charter train.
Repairing the 10.6KM remaining damaged sections - particularly the bridge - is problematic, as the small company has no ability to pay for it. But remember: This is the lil’ railroad that could. They will find a way.
Linked article at Kumanichi with maps and other cool info. - William
