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World’s first 3D-printed train station building planned by JR West

Master Blaster Mar 13, 2025
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More intricate structures in a fraction of the time.

Japan is home to a wide variety of train stations, from tiny countryside sheds to sprawling urban complexes, stations with their own wineries and ones with giant ancient relics whose eyes glow. It’s gotten to the point where it’s really hard to be “the first” anything when it comes to train stations, but JR West has managed it with the first-ever 3D-printed station building.

This new structure is scheduled to replace the current one at Hatsushima Station on the JR Kisei Main Line in Arida City, Wakayama Prefecture. Like many relatively rural stations in Japan, the wooden structures are aging and in need of replacements.

▼ Call me crazy, but that might be more vending machines than necessary at a station like this.

The new building will be roughly the same size, covering 10 square meters (108 square feet) and made from a more durable reinforced concrete. The foundation and exterior of the building will be printed off-site by Osaka-based 3D-printer housing company Serendix.

▼ Serendix created the “serendix10” as their first sales model in 2022.

Image: @Press

The station building will be printed in pieces that will undergo further processing, such as rebar installation and concrete pouring. When ready they will then be sent to the site and assembled. This process will greatly speed up construction time, and it is expected that the old Hatsushima Station will be taken down and the new one up and running in only six hours, the time between the last train at night and first train the next morning.

In addition to requiring considerably less time, labor, and cost, this process allows for a lot more flexibility in design, well beyond the typical rectangles and triangles normally used in buildings. This is because typical concrete buildings are made with formwork, which is a frame of wooden and/or metal beams and sheets into which the concrete is poured and given shape.

Using formwork, anything beyond a rectangle introduces problems in that special frames need to be developed both to accommodate the shape and the added weight created from the shape not being at right angles. However, with 3D printing, more elegant curves and even intricate designs can be more easily accomplished.

▼ The Hatsushima Station building will have concrete reliefs of mikan oranges and beltfish, two of Arida City’s signature foods.

Image: PR Times

If all goes according to plan, this will become the norm for JR West’s efforts to replace aging stations. So, if you happen to wake up one morning and find your local station completely replaced with a much fancier one, you’ll know how it was done.

Source: PR Times, CNET Japan, Itai News, @Press
Featured image: PR Times
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