Hisatsu Orange Railway: Fully Supported by Kagoshima Prefecture

In 2004, JR Kyushu's Kyushu Shinkansen line partially opened between Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures.

Accordingly, Hisatsu Orange Railway opened on the parallel conventional line that connects the 2 prefectures.

Parallel conventional lines are lines that operate alongside Shinkansen lines.

When a Shinkansen line starts service,

the existing conventional line sometimes separates from JR and a third-sector railway company,

mainly funded by the local government, takes over the operation.

Since tourists and business travelers prefer the Shinkansen,

most parallel-conventional-line users are residents who live along the lines.

The introduction of the Shinkansen to an area often causes conventional line passenger numbers to drop,

making business difficult.

In order to maintain these struggling third-sector railways,

local governments generally have to provide support.

In the case of Kagoshima Prefecture, only three cities are serviced by Hisatsu Orange Railway,

however, all 43 municipalities in the prefecture are providing support to protect this regional transportation system.

In today's program, we'll be taking a look at Hisatsu Orange Railway, which runs through Kagoshima Prefecture.

Hisatsu Orange Railway is a third-sector railway company located in the Kyushu region of western Japan

that connects Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures.

There are 28 stations on the approximately 117km line.

The word "Hisatsu" in the railway's name is an old word for both Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures.

"Orange" comes from the many citrus trees that grow along the line.

Hisatsu Orange Railway has two main sources of income.

Passenger fares bring in about 250 million yen per year,

but that number is decreasing as each passing year sees the population along the line decline even further.

When it first opened in 2004, the railway had approximately 1.9 million passengers,

but since 2020 and the pandemic that number has dropped to less than 1 million.

Another main source of income comes from track access charges for freight trains operations.

The company receives approximately 1.2 billion yen from JR Freight annually,

making it the railway's largest source of income.

Even so, Hisatsu Orange Railway's financials for 2021 show a deficit of approximately 550 million yen.

In fact, the company has posted a loss every year for the 19 years it's been in operation.

The company has been in the red
since it was established.

Management of the conventional line broke away
from JR because it wasn't profitable.

Considering that, it's always been difficult.

It's now been 20 years since the company
was established.

With the aging and declining population,
and decreasing birthrate,

the business situation has become even more dire.

Approximately 80% of Hisatsu Orange Railway's current passengers are commuter pass users.

This is Satsumasendai City, one of the three municipalities in Kagoshima Prefecture serviced by the railway.

Because of the four high schools in the city, support for the Hisatsu Orange Railway has continued

as it's an essential mode of transportation for the students commuting to and from school.

Around 230,000 people use the railway annually,
of which 60% commute to work and school.

It's also essential for hospital visits and shopping etc.

So I think the city will continue to support the railway.

In 2023, the city provided around 10 million yen.

Because of this, a total of around 800 million yen in subsidies is paid to Hisatsu Orange Railway each year

from both Kumamoto and Kagoshima Prefectures as well as local governments along the line.

In addition, in Kagoshima Prefecture, all municipalities including those not serviced by the railway

have joined together to create a support framework for the railway.

That support comes in the way of subsidies managed by the Kagoshima Municipal Development Corporation.

Funded by the proceeds of lottery ticket sales,

the funds belong to the combined municipalities of Kagoshima Prefecture.

To be eligible for subsidies, the recipient must provide services that benefit all of the municipalities.

In 2013, Kagoshima Prefecture consulted with each municipality to receive a subsidy from the foundation

based on the benefits provided by the freight trains that use the railway.

It's a key logistics route that links Kagoshima
Prefecture to Honshu, Japan's main island,

so the entire prefecture benefits from the railway.

We believe the railway needs prefecture-wide
support because it benefits

the entire prefecture, not just the municipalities
along the line.

So it is receiving support from the Municipal
Development Corporation's Fund.

Freight trains from Honshu Japan's main island

enter Kagoshima Prefecture via Yatsushiro Station in Kumamoto Prefecture on the Hisatsu Orange Railway line.

Freight coming into Kagoshima Prefecture mainly consists of TV and online-shopping items and industrial products,

while outbound freight is mostly made up of agricultural and paper products.

Although only three cities in Kagoshima Prefecture are serviced by the Hisatsu Orange Railway,

a prefecture-wide support framework was created considering the entire prefecture benefits from the line's freight transportation.

The subsidy is used to pay for the maintenance of facilities

such as tracks and overhead wires associated with freight train operations.

This support, which was to be provided for a 10-year period starting in 2013, totals more than 1 billion yen.

Hisatsu Orange Railway's facilities and rolling stock which were inherited from JR

are aging and maintenance costs are skyrocketing.

The prefecture-wide support framework with all municipalities contributing is indispensable.

The subsidy is important for our company's operation.
If the subsidy were discontinued,

business would be very difficult indeed.

Yes, you would think that the locals were excited and happy to welcome in a new shinkansen line,

but there is always the problem how to maintain the conventional lines

that run parallel to the strong and fast shinkansen.

Yes indeed, and this is the problem common to all shinkansen lines

that have opened recently and their parallel conventional lines.

You know once the shinkansen lines open,

most of the intercity passengers would shift from the conventional line trains to the shinkansen trains.

That would mean significantly reduced ridership on the conventional lines.

It's quite unique that in Kagoshima Prefecture,

even areas that are not directly connected or serviced by Hisatsu Orange Railway are supporting it at this point in time.

Yes indeed, but you know the subsidy in the current framework would finish in the fiscal year 2023,

and now the discussion is underway what to do from year 2024.

I think that Hisatsu Orange Railway is expecting that the subsidy will continue and I myself would hope so too.

Yes, I hope so too.

I mean it is a beautiful area Kagoshima Prefecture has so much to offer,

it's also a great area for maybe tourists to come in and enjoy, right?

Yes indeed, and also there are some regions

that are not covered by the new shinkansen line and for them,

I think maintaining the passenger service on the Hisatsu Orange Railway would be important.

And, if those tourist trains can help maintain the passenger service on the Hisatsu Orange Railway,

and that would be the very good news for them as well.

So, great passenger service and getting the tourist to come.

Let's have a look at Hisatsu Orange Railway's tourist train that has been running for over 10 years.

This tourist train is Hisatsu Orange Railway's Orange Restaurant.

As the name suggests, it's a restaurant train.

In 2013, Hisatsu Orange Railway launched various initiatives in an effort to turn the railway business around.

One of the main initiatives was the introduction of a new tourist train.

At the time, the government was promoting eco-tourism.

As part of that promotion, the company received around 50 million yen to debut the new train.

The two-car Orange Restaurant is a refurbished diesel train.

The exterior is dark "ocean" blue.

The logo and accents are gold.

The concept behind the train is "good food and easy living."

Offering a monthly menu that focuses on locally produced, seasonal ingredients,

Orange Restaurant was the forerunner of restaurant trains nationwide.

The train can seat 43 passengers.

The interior was designed to resemble a hotel cafe,

with timber floors, window frames, and tables, etc., as well as spacious seating.

Car 1 has counter seats that face the ocean as well as tables on the mountain side.

And here is the kitchen space where the meals are prepared.

Car 2 has two-person tables on the ocean side and ocean-facing "sofa" seats on the mountain side.

Orange Restaurant quickly became a popular tourist attraction,

with more than 10,000 people coming to enjoy the restaurant experience every year.

However, in recent years, that number dropped to less than one-third due to the pandemic.

The company has renewed travel brochures advertising the attractions along the line.

And in the future, the company will use social media to bring those numbers back.

To maintain our business, we have to
attract a variety of passengers

to secure non-commuter-pass income.

It's 7:00 a.m.

At the station where the train depot is located, the staff get ready for the lunch course.

The precooked food is prepared by a local restaurant and brought to the station.

The food, tableware, and drinks are all loaded onto the train by the staff.

Today, we are boarding the lunch course train at Shin-Yatsushiro Station,

a stop on the Shinkansen line, in Kumamoto Prefecture.

At the ticket gate, a welcome board, handmade by the staff, greets the passengers.

I've heard good things so I wanted
to try it at least once.

I'm looking forward to it.

I'm excited.

The train will soon be departing. Please
stand clear of the closing doors.

At 10:40 a.m., the train departs Shin-Yatsushiro Station.

Passengers can look forward to a variety of "treats" throughout the journey.

The train departs Shin-Yatsushiro Station and arrives at Hinagu-Onsen Station approximately 20 minutes later.

The train stops here for 15 minutes.

Here, the passengers are served "Chikuwa," a local specialty, with tea.

"Chikuwa" is a kind of tubular fishcake that can be eaten as is, or lightly roasted to give it a savory aroma.

At this station, local treats are prepared as souvenirs.

At four stations along the way,

Orange Restaurant's passengers receive tea service and gifts of local products.

As lunchtime approaches, the meal is prepared in the Car-1 kitchen space.

Today's menu is French cuisine produced by a chef from a local restaurant.

The course meal features ingredients from Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures.

During lunch, the train leaves Kumamoto Prefecture and enters Kagoshima.

Soon after, people can be seen waving by the tracks.

Local supporters welcome passengers by dressing up in costumes,

waving orange towels, and holding banners.

This friendly welcome began with just one family 5 years before.

Now, seven families come to greet the train every Sunday.

When we started, we wanted to cheer up
the locals and visitors to our city.

We're always happy when we get a reaction
from the passengers onboard.

That's something we share.

The train arrives at Akune Station in Kagoshima Prefecture.

The souvenir offered at this station is a snack of locally caught and seasoned dried fish.

This station building was renovated by the local city of Akune,

coinciding with the operation of Orange Restaurant, to make the station more attractive to tourists.

There are cafe and library corners at the station for locals and tourists.

And the station building also serves as a local community center.

The operation of Orange Restaurant is also helping to revitalize the local community.

The scenery is another feature of the Orange Restaurant's train.

Departing Akune Station, the train offers spectacular views as it runs along the coast.

At selected viewpoints along the way,

the train stops for 2 minutes and an attendant talks about the islands and reefs visible from the window.

The next stop is Satsumataki Station.

The train stops here for about 20 minutes.

Getting off at the platform,

an attendant guides the passengers down a path through some trees to what appears to be a private beach.

This area used to be deserted,

but the railway's employees made improvements in an effort

to make the area a tourist attraction for Orange Restaurant.

In the winter of 2013, the employees used their free time to work on the project.

They mowed the grass and used old railway sleepers to build a boardwalk and observation deck.

And on the beach, they placed a bell said to bring happiness.

Thank you for choosing Orange Restaurant's
special lunch course today.

At 2:46 p.m., Orange Restaurant arrives at its final destination, Sendai Station.

The four-hour restaurant train experience has come to an end.

We loved the view and the food.

Especially the local ham.

I agree. It was terrific.

Orange Restaurant operates three trips per day on Fridays through Sundays, and holidays.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served according to the schedule.

I got to be honest, when I first heard that the journey on the Orange Restaurant takes about 4 hours,

I thought it might be a bit long, but then actually seeing how much they offer it makes sense.

And the food, didn't it look lovely? It's very good!

And then, also, the interior, it is so done that the seating kind of gives you

the best view no matter where you're sitting, I think that is a clever idea.

And there's one thing I have to confess here,

because I did ride the section of the railway which is now called Hisatsu Orange Railway when I was young,

but when I took the ride, all of the trains I took were actually night trains.

Oh no, so you didn't get to see the view?

Not at all.

Oh what a shame you got to do it again.

Yes, and this time I should take the Orange Restaurant.

One thing I found really interesting.

In Japan, there are many restaurant trains right?

Introducing the food and the local culture.

But the Orange Restaurant is actually one of the pioneers of this type of train.

I didn't know that.

And also impressive is that,

once this Orange Restaurant attracted more than 10,000 passengers a year and

that I think is a really great record.

Let's hope that Hisatsu Orange Railway will continue to attract passengers and tourists

and hopefully that will improve their performance.

I couldn't agree more.

On June 10, Hankai Tramway's "Streetcar Festival" was held in Osaka Prefecture.

This event is held annually to bring the trams closer

to people who do not have the opportunity to use them on a daily basis.

Ten vehicles, old and new, were displayed at the event,

including a tram built in 1928 that is still in service today.

For the kids, the most fun thing to do was sit in the driver's seat,

where they enjoyed taking commemorative photos.

It was fun. I liked wearing the hat.

There was also a railway parts sale.

Here, they sold a variety of used railway items, including signals and signboards.

They remind me of the old days. Many of the
trams are gone now.

I like how relaxing they are to ride.

On June 11, on the JR Kamaishi Line in Iwate Prefecture,

SL Ginga, pulled by a C58 steam locomotive ran for the last time.

To cheer up areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred in 2011,

JR East started operation of the tourist train SL Ginga in 2014.

However, due to the aging passenger cars, the service had to come to an end.

Many fans and locals gather at Kamaishi Station to say farewell as the train departs for the last time.

SL Ginga sounds its whistle and slowly begins to move out, as the gathering crowd watches on.

I'm a little sad.

I rode it once during the summer.
I have some great memories.

The steam locomotive didn't just carry passengers;
it also gave us courage.