Railway companies in regions where the business environment is becoming more difficult due to the influence of the new coronavirus are making efforts such as establishing their own funds and soliciting donations on the Internet in order to secure the funds necessary for operation. is spreading.
Of these, Shinano Railway, the third sector of Nagano Prefecture, is the first domestic railway company to create a fund for raising funds, and plans to collect a total of 50 million yen from individuals and institutional investors by next month. is.
We are soliciting investment from individuals from 50,000 yen per unit, and the collected funds will be mainly used for the introduction of new vehicles with low power consumption.
There have been a series of movements to utilize "crowdfunding", which widely solicits donations on the Internet, and the "Watarase Valley Railway", which connects Gunma and Tochigi prefectures, has collected more than 9.8 million yen as vehicle inspection costs.
In addition, the number of Hojo Railways in the third sector of Hyogo Prefecture has been increased by utilizing the approximately 50 million yen fund collected by the local city of Kasai through the corporate version of the hometown tax payment.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, about 80% of railway companies in 95 regions nationwide have been in the red even before the spread of the new coronavirus infection, and as the business environment becomes more severe, we have devised ways to secure the necessary funds for operation. The elaborate movement is spreading.