{"id":176655,"date":"2026-03-26T10:47:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T01:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/?post_type=news&#038;p=176655&#038;lang=en"},"modified":"2026-03-26T10:47:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T01:47:23","slug":"heisei-chikuho-railway-to-be-replaced-by-bus-system","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/news\/heisei-chikuho-railway-to-be-replaced-by-bus-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Heisei Chikuho Railway to Be Replaced by Bus System"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Heisei Chikuho Railway in Fukuoka Prefecture will be discontinued and replaced by a bus-based system, following a formal decision on March 25 by a council of nine municipalities, the prefectural government, and transport operators. The third-sector railway, which connects the Chikuho and Keichiku regions, has faced sustained ridership declines due to population loss. Three options were considered\u2014rail restructuring, bus rapid transit, and route buses\u2014with the bus conversion selected as the least financially burdensome, projecting deficits of \u00a511 billion over 30 years. Five of nine municipalities supported the plan, and local surveys showed backing tied to lower costs and continued access. The new system is expected to operate as a community bus network, possibly outsourced. Challenges include securing 44 drivers, addressing industry-wide labor shortages, and designing routes that balance access to schools and hospitals with reliability amid traffic delays. A regional transport plan will be compiled in fiscal 2026. <strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nikkei.com\/article\/DGXZQOJC210XQ0R20C26A3000000\/\" target=\"_blank\">Nikkei<\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/news.web.nhk\/newsweb\/na\/nb-5010032492\" target=\"_blank\">NHK<\/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\/2026\/03\/fnn_chikuho-dentetsu_2026_WEB.jpg?resize=1400%2C1050&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1400\" height=\"1050\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-176656\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fnn_chikuho-dentetsu_2026_WEB.jpg?w=1400&amp;ssl=1 1400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fnn_chikuho-dentetsu_2026_WEB.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fnn_chikuho-dentetsu_2026_WEB.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fnn_chikuho-dentetsu_2026_WEB.jpg?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>The Heisei Chikuho Railway in Fukuoka Prefecture will be discontinued and replaced by a bus-based system, following a formal decision on March&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30292,"featured_media":176656,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"class_list":["post-176655","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","location-fukuoka-prefecture","news-category-general","en-US"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/176655","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=176655"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}