Does a dying dragon come to life again?
Reconstruction scheme for JR East Ohfunato Line is hard to settle
[From Ohfunato City-my stricken home town]
– East Japan Great Earthquake & Tsunami Disaster-
JR East Ohfunato Line was greatly damaged by the tsunami on March 11, but its reconstruction scheme has not been settled yet. Although, it is picked up as one of the plans in the final reconstruction scheme of Ohfunato city, some committee members oppose its reopening.
The nickname of this line is the “Dragon Rail”, as the spur line is thought to resemble the thin tail of a Chinese dragon and as a statement of the speed of the train over the considerable distance. Express trains on this line are marked “Super Dragon”.
Rising of the tracks using as the double embankments against the next tsunami is another idea, but JR East is hard to accept it. ‘If the tracks are raised, we won’t be able to secure our passengers from natural disasters such as a strong wind.’ A representative from JR East expressed.
The reconstruction committee is looked unable to settle the scheme within a certain period of time. The matter had discussed several times at the past seven meetings. Some members advocated its discontinuance. They insist as ‘a crossing gate disturbed evacuation route when the tsunami washed’, or ‘number of passengers have decreased than before, so local people depend no more on the line.’
One of the committee members, Mr. Yuzou Kanno (77), CEO of Ohfunato Fish Market, appeals as such, ‘we must put on more importance providing adequate evacuation routes for the next tsunami than spend money for reconstruction of JR line.’
＜Reference＞
View JR Ohfunato Station in a larger map
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