Incredible things have been happening in Japan. This is the country that gave us karaoke bars, sushi conveyors, and square watermelon — not to mention those high-tech toilets.
It’s also a world leader in public infrastructure, sporting wonders like the lofty Tokyo Sky Tree, the immense Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel, and the 300-meter tall Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge. There’s also the matter of the Shinkansen bullet train network, connecting riders to major cities across the country at speeds of up to 225 mph.
Undergirding these dazzling public works is good old Japanese engineering, known for precision, innovation, and dependability.
Case in point, the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) just announced the completion of a 3D-printed train station, which it says is a world first. Plans to replace a crumbling wooden station in Wakayama Prefecture were first announced on March 11, 2025, and the printed building was more or less put together by March 26th in the span of just under three hours.
To do it, JR West contracted Serendix, which specializes in 3D printed homes. Serendix delivered the station in four parts by rail, which were then pieced together during a break in the train schedule. Though the rural station weighs in at just 10 square meters, the construction time is more than half the previous estimate of six hours.
The construction method reportedly cut down on cost as well, according to The Japan Times, coming in at half the price of reinforced concrete. The company boasts that it should likewise be able to withstand the region’s devastating earthquakes.
Once the station goes online in July, citizens of the coastal city of Arida will be able to resume 90-minute trips to the uninhabited island of Jinoshima, a popular destination for summer travelers.
The ease with which Japan rolled out the station underscores the country’s commitment to public transit. Surprisingly, the majority Japan’s metro and regional rail services are privately owned — an anomaly compared to most publicly-owned systems throughout the world. The secret is that many of Japan’s transit companies also operate as property developers.
With some carefully regulation, these companies are able to rapidly develop urban areas around public infrastructure, and invest in innovative new technology like 3D printed buildings.
But Japan’s success with rail privatization is even more of an outlier. Most privatization ventures throughout the world have failed spectacularly. In the UK, for example, rail privatization has led to rising fees, service reductions, staffing issues, and major delays, thanks to deregulation allowing private equity vultures to pick the system clean.
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