Japan has a new 3D-printed railway shelter, put together in just six hours, in a project that authorities hope will save services in remote locations thanks to the need for fewer maintenance and station workers.
Hatsushima Station is on the Kisei Line that runs along the mountainous Kii Peninsula and brings people to the fishing port of Arida in Wakayama Prefecture. It sees around 530 passengers per day, but its shelter, an old wooden structure built in 1948 was considered no longer fit for the automated offer that arrived at the seaside stop in 2018.
So on the 24 March 2025, a series of reinforced concrete 3D-printed molded mortar parts, created over the previous seven days in a Kumamoto factory, were transported hundreds of kilometres to be assembled in the early hours between the last night train and the first train of the morning.
Earthquake, birthrate and isolation-proof
By daylight, the 2.6-metre tall, 10m2 minimalist building was in place, decorated in bright white, with design references including nods to local specialties, including an embossed slice of mandarin orange and a scabbardfish. Serendix, the Japanese housing firm that partnered West Japan Railway, said the project possesses earthquake-resistant qualities similar to reinforced concrete houses.
Japan builds 3D-Printed Train Station in just 6 hours… pic.twitter.com/oOdIQS3NFv
— Acknowledge A.I (@acknowledgeai) April 12, 2025
Though it may look more like a shelter than a station, a more traditional construction would have taken over two months and cost twice as much to produce, the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) said, due to a lack of workers blamed on Japan’s falling birth rate and rural exodus.
However, the record-breaking new structure is not yet quite complete. It awaits finishings, fittings, ticket machines and card readers yet to be installed. Its grand public opening is slated for July 2025, at which point its faithful old wooden predecessor, witness to over three generations of Arida rail passengers, will be dismantled and removed.
World’s First 3D-Printed Train Station in Japan
— DrDémọ́lá (@drdemola01) April 3, 2025
On Wednesday, March 26, 2025, West Japan Railway (JR West) achieved a feat by building a train station structure that consists of parts made with 3D printer technology. Now, the building, pic.twitter.com/GZ2kiWqGNq
Other 3D-printed architecture around the world
Meanwhile in France, the country’s first 3D-printed housing complex is underway, pumped out in soft squeeze paste by a gigantic printer on a vast gantry, using what French engineers called “more efficient, error-free construction” that is up to 10% more economical in terms of materials.
And in Mulegns, Switzerland, on the Julier Pass, the Tor Alva, a twisting, white, 3D-printed tower that stands 30-metres high opened in 2024, as the world’s tallest 3D-printed structure. The five-storey, 45 visitor-capacity cultural venue, took 900 hours to complete.
