• The 'Kyu-Shirataki' railway station in Japan was kept in special form for 3 years for the education of a schoolgirl.


• The train stopped at 7:15 am and 5:08 pm every day according to her timings so that the girl would be able to attend school.


• The railway administration officially closed the station permanently only after the girl completed her schooling in March 2016.

In today's age where everything is weighed on profit, loss and business calculations, it is not surprising to hear that an entire railway station is maintained for the education of a schoolgirl. But, this is no fantasy but a true and very emotional event that happened in Japan.

What a touching event?

In a very remote part of the northern island of Hokkaido in Japan, there was a small railway station called Kyu-Shirataki. Japan Railways decided to close the station permanently as the population in the area was very low and the number of passengers decreased.

But when the railway authorities realized that this station was used by a high school student named 'Kana Harada' to commute to and from school every day, they changed their mind.

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The train schedule is fixed according to the school timings of the girl

The railway administration not only maintained that station, but also made the train schedule directly according to the girl's school timings. The train used to arrive at the station at 7:15 every morning so that she could reach school on time. A train would stop there at 5:08 pm to allow her to return home after school. The girl was the only regular daily passenger at this station. If she had missed this train, there was no other easy option for her to reach school.

The journey continued till graduation

The Japanese Railways kept the station open for three years only for that one girl. It was only when Kana completed her schooling and graduated in March 2016 that the railways officially stopped service from the station permanently.

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Appreciation poured in from around the world

When this story spread across the world through social media, people applauded the decision of the Japanese administration. Japan's culture of prioritizing the education of a citizen – especially a female student – at the expense of business is a great example of humanity.