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Japan to Construct Country’s First 3D-printed Train Station; JR West Picks Unmanned Station in Wakayama Prefecture

Courtesy of JR West Group
An artist’s rendering of 3D-printed Hatsushima Station

The Yomiuri Shimbun

7:00 JST, March 13, 2025

For the first time in the country, 3D printer technology will be used to construct a new building for an unmanned railway station, according to a Tuesday announcement by West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) and others.

The new Hatsushima Station along the Kisei Line in Arida, Wakayama Prefecture, will be a one-story concrete building. The structure will be 2.6 meters tall, 6.3 meters wide and 2.1 meters deep.

The project aims to efficiently construct a station if renovating an aging station poses problems.

The building parts will be produced at Serendix Inc., a homebuilder using 3D printers in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, and assembled at the station site. The assembly is scheduled to take place after the last train on March 25. The work is expected to require about six hours.

JR West chose Hatsushima Station for the project because it is close to the sea and makes it easier for the company to check matters such as the building’s durability as it is exposed to salty air.

“We will closely examine the cost for construction, maintenance and management, and hopefully bring the project to other stations, too,” said a JR West official.