It was just after the Sanko Line marked its 40th anniversary when West Japan Railway Co. informed Kazutoshi Masuda, mayor of Miyoshi, Hiroshima Prefecture, that it would seek a more "sustainable" public transportation system.
"I knew it meant that the Sanko Line would be scrapped," the mayor recalled.
As rural communities become increasingly depopulated, railways are scrapping unprofitable lines, forcing municipalities to switch to cheaper public transportation, such as buses.