This past Sunday (September 28), the Nishitetsu Omuta Line between Zashonokuma and Shimoori switched to an elevated line.
I used to live in Mugino, Hakata Ward for two years in college and for five years in my late 40s, and Zahonokuma Station was the nearest station to me. However, when I was in my late 40's, I never used Zashonokuma station because I used JR Minami-Fukuoka station for commuting because my office was located next to Hakata Post Office.
The apartment I rented when I was a company employee was located a minute's walk east of Zashonokuma Station, and I had to cross a railroad crossing at Zashonokuma Station to get to Minamifukuoka Station on the west side.
The Nishitetsu Omuta Line runs from Omuta in Chikugo to Tenjin in Fukuoka City via Kurume, and is heavily used. Therefore, during the morning and evening commuting hours, there are many trains in operation and the railroad crossing is closed for a long time.
When I was in a hurry, I felt that the time spent waiting at the crossing was even longer.
When I was a student, Zashonokuma Station was a one-story building with a message board at the ticket gate. When I was a company employee, the station building was two stories high and the message board had disappeared. This time, the station was elevated and the platform seems to have been moved to the third floor.
With the recent switch to elevated tracks, 19 railroad crossings have been eliminated. I suppose this eliminated the frustration of waiting at railroad crossings.
The Omorimachi station in Omori, where I used to live, has also been elevated, and I felt a sense of sadness when I walked under the elevated tracks where the level crossing had been eliminated.
The scene of people and cars waiting for the railroad crossing to clear and then all at once crossing the tracks with a look of "oh dear" on their faces was also very tasty. I guess it was just nostalgia for the days gone by.
