TOKYO: West Japan Railway Company has constructed 3D-printed railway station in just six hours.
This is the world’s first 3D-printed railway station, built in the Arida region of Japan.
Previously, a wooden station had existed at this site since 1948, which has now been replaced by the 3D-printed station.
The new Hatsushima Station serves around 530 passengers daily, with 1 to 3 trains passing through every hour.
For this project, various parts of the station were created using a 3D printer, and then transported from the factory to Arida.
The printing process took seven days, and once all the parts were ready, they were delivered to the construction site on the night of March 24.
The printing was completed by a company called Serendix, whose co-founder, Kunihiro Handa, explained that traditional construction methods are slow and challenging.
He said that using traditional techniques, such a project would take several months to complete, but 3D printing significantly accelerated the construction process.
At 11:57 PM on March 24, after the last train passed through the station, trucks arrived and local workers assembled the 3D-printed parts.
The entire process was completed by 5:45 AM in just six hours.
