JR Matsuyama Station to be Demolished

[Guest ___]

I think I'd rather have the old station which is far from obsolete. Having Matsuyama-eki as my home base for three weeks, the only benefit I see to tearing the existing station down is to elimnate a few grade crossings. There's a lot of business in the area that are going to be dislocated as a result, and a prime railfanning spot, ie, the yard gone. Putting personal bias about fanning aside, I see little reason aside fom removing a few at-grades that have traffic counts as it is, out.

[bikkuri bahn]

Most likely the project is a vehicle to generate real estate profits for JR Shikoku, which is a prudent plan because I doubt their rail services generate anything in the way of profits (JR Shikoku and JR Hokkaido are supported by the government- i.e. they are not listed on the TSE).  That said, you are losing pretty much all of the "railroady" atmosphere so many of us here crave, and I hope JR Shikoku doesn't forget their commitment to safe railway operation in their drive to expand more lucrative non-rail operations, which is a problem we have faced up here with JR-H...

[westfalen]

I know that this morning we walked straight onto the platform with our luggage and into our train as all the Limited Express trains now leave from platform one, in future we will have to lug it up an escalator or elevator. JR Shikoku's real estate department will be the biggest benificiary.

[Sacto1985]

I think JR Shikoku looked at what JR Kyushu did and is going the same way in terms of making money. 

 

(For those who remember, when JR Kyushu was formed in 1987, they were definitely not making profits. It was the redevelopment of their major stations into major retailing spaces that finally got them back into the black--look at the huge retailing spaces around Hakata, Kokura, and Kagoshima-Chūō stations.)

 

As such, modernizing Matsuyama Station means JR Shikoku will earn a cut of the revenue from the retailers at the new station. 

[miyakoji]

I know that this morning we walked straight onto the platform with our luggage and into our train as all the Limited Express trains now leave from platform one

I especially like this too.  Ticket -> (bento) -> gate -> train, all on one level, well within 10 yards/meters of each other.