Riding the Shigaraki Kohgen Railway

The other day, I rode the Shigaraki Kohgen Railway with my wife, who is a train enthusiast.
It is a short line that connects Shigaraki Station and Kibukawa Station in Shiga Prefecture.

In the past, there was a collision between trains.
It was a very major accident.
Now, a memorial monument has been erected along the tracks.

My wife and I made a round trip on the section of less than 10 minutes from the intermediate Shigarakigu-shi Station to Shigaraki Station.
We had parked our car in the large free parking lot at Shigarakigu-shi Station.

This happened when we were boarding the train at that station.

It was before noon, but suddenly raindrops began to fall.
At first, it was just a light drizzle, but after a while, it turned into heavy rain.
We sat on a bench with a roof and waited for the train.

Since we still had some time, my wife and I were enjoying a chat.

After a while, I felt someone's presence.
When I turned to the side, an elderly woman was standing there, getting wet in the rain.

"You'll get wet. Please, come over here."
I invited the elderly woman over.
"Thank you very much. Excuse me."
Saying that, the woman sat down next to us.

When I asked her about it, it seemed she was on her way back from a nearby hospital.
"I was given a ride by car when I came here, but I told them I would go home by train."

She was a white-haired woman who must have been well over 80.
It seemed she had walked from the hospital to the station.

Indeed, you can see the hospital from the station platform.
The walking distance must be about 300 meters.
To have walked from the hospital in the scorching heat, only to be caught in the rain upon arriving at the station.
It must have been very difficult for her.

"This is my first time using this station. I'm getting off at the station two stops from here."
The woman said.
While we were talking about that, the train arrived.

It was a single-car purple wrapped train with pictures of Koga ninjas drawn on it.
Despite it being a weekday, the inside of the train was unexpectedly crowded.

(I hope this railway remains forever.)
I thought to myself as I was swayed by the train.

The rural areas are experiencing an aging population.
I believe there are many people like this woman who, thanks to the railway, can go to the hospital and go shopping even as they get older.

Even if it's only once an hour, or no, once every two hours, it doesn't matter if it's a train or a diesel car.
I want the areas where railways are currently operating to remain just as they are.
That is what I wish for.

Two stops from Shigarakigu-shi Station, at a station with the grand name of Chokushi Station, the woman got off.
Both when she was getting off and after she had gotten off, the woman turned toward us and bowed her head again and again.

Before long, the train arrived at the final stop, Shigaraki Station.

When I stepped out of the station building, the rain from earlier had turned into a light drizzle.
Faint sunlight was beginning to shine through the clouds.

(A sunshower.)
Looking up at the sky, I remembered that old expression.