While the number of railway users is declining due to the influence of the new coronavirus, there is a growing movement among railway companies to work on "mixed cargo and passenger loading" to carry cargo such as fresh food in vacant spaces as a new source of revenue.
Of these, Keihin Electric Express Railway is conducting an experimental effort to transport vegetables harvested by farmers along the railway line to urban areas by train and sell them.
On this day, 20 boxes of vegetables such as cabbage and radishes harvested by local farmers were loaded into the vehicle at Misakiguchi Station on the Kurihama Line in Miura City, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Vegetables were transported to Kamiooka Station in Yokohama City in about 50 minutes and sold at a special corner inside the station.
At this company, fare revenue has fallen due to the decrease in commuting passengers due to the spread of telework, and securing new revenue sources has become an issue, and we are aiming to commercialize "consolidated cargo and passengers," which is rare on conventional lines in the Tokyo metropolitan area. ..
Ken Higashino, a sales promotion manager of Keihin Electric Express Railway, said, "Railways can reduce carbon dioxide emissions from transportation compared to trucks, so I would like to appeal to consumers from the perspective of environmental measures."
In addition, JR East is strengthening its business by increasing the number of flights on the Tohoku-Hokkaido and Joetsu Shinkansen, which carry local fish and shellfish and special products to the Tokyo metropolitan area, 10 times compared to before Corona.