The south ticket gate at JR Kōshienguchi Station has become IC card-only, and the ticket machines are gone too.
This is the south ticket gate at Kōshienguchi Station, which now only accepts IC cards.
Wait, where are the ticket machines!?
They’re gone…
The ticket machines at the north ticket gate are still there, but since there are only two, it looks like it could get crowded.
Finally
The COVID period is long behind us, but with remote work becoming more common, passenger numbers don’t seem to have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Maybe recent price increases are also a factor, but it feels like cost-cutting is moving ahead: Hankyu Railway has more unmanned hours, and trash bins have been removed from Hanshin Railway stations. Since they’re privately operated, maybe it can’t be helped…
