{"id":176070,"date":"2026-02-17T10:53:48","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T01:53:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/?post_type=news&#038;p=176070&#038;lang=en"},"modified":"2026-02-17T10:53:48","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T01:53:48","slug":"three-municipalities-back-bus-shift-for-heisei-chikuho-railway","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/news\/three-municipalities-back-bus-shift-for-heisei-chikuho-railway\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Municipalities Back Bus Shift For Heisei Chikuho Railway"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Three municipalities along the Heisei Chikuho Railway line expressed support on February 16 for converting the struggling rail service to a standard route bus system. At a legally mandated council meeting convened by Fukuoka Prefecture, Yukuhashi City, Kotake Town, and Aka Village endorsed the bus option, citing lower financial burdens. The third-sector railway, which connects Nogata and Yukuhashi, has faced ongoing financial difficulties. The council is considering three options: maintaining the rail line, converting it to a bus rapid transit system using dedicated lanes, or switching to route buses. The remaining six municipalities are expected to announce their positions by mid-March, with a final decision due by the end of next month. Officials said 44 additional drivers would be required, and operators indicated staffing would be feasible. <strong>Source<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/news.web.nhk\/newsweb\/na\/nb-5010032040\" target=\"_blank\">NHK<\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/newsdig.tbs.co.jp\/articles\/rkb\/2471507\" target=\"_blank\">RKB<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/fnn_heisei-chikuho-railway_2024_WEB.jpeg?resize=1400%2C1050&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Heisei Chikuho Railway Faces Financial Challenges, Seeks Additional Support\" width=\"1400\" height=\"1050\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-164849\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/fnn_heisei-chikuho-railway_2024_WEB.jpeg?w=1400&amp;ssl=1 1400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/fnn_heisei-chikuho-railway_2024_WEB.jpeg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/fnn_heisei-chikuho-railway_2024_WEB.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/fnn_heisei-chikuho-railway_2024_WEB.jpeg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/>Photo: Fukuoka Now<\/p>\n<p>Stay informed with the latest Fukuoka &#038; Kyushu news and events in English. Sign up for our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/mailmagazine\/\">free weekly newsletter<\/a> today and never miss a beat. Opt out anytime, your privacy is our priority. Get the inside scoop with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/mailmagazine\/\">The Now<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Summaries based on public content, errors may occur during translation. Images credited independently. Send feedback using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/contact\/\">this <strong>form<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three municipalities along the Heisei Chikuho Railway line expressed support on February 16 for converting the struggling rail&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30292,"featured_media":164849,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"class_list":["post-176070","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","location-fukuoka-prefecture","news-category-business","en-US"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/176070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30292"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176070"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}