A new 3D-printed train station was constructed in just six hours in what railway operators are calling a ‘world first’.
The installation took place in the rural town of Arida, Japan, between the departure of the last train and the arrival of the morning’s first. The project was a collaboration between housing company Serendix and the West Japan Railway Company.
A compact, white curved-roof structure measuring 2.6 metres high and 6.3 metres wide has replaced a 75-year-old wooden structure.
The West Japan Railway Company said a traditional construction would have taken more than two months and cost twice as much.
The station’s foundations and exterior parts were pre-printed at Serendix’s factory in seven days. The parts were also reinforced with steel and a concrete cleat filling.
Serendix used a construction-grade 3D printer with a robotic arm and what it describes as ‘special mortar’.
These parts were then transported to the railway site on trucks for assembly.
“Normally, construction takes...