Several rural rail lines in West Japan that have been closed due to torrential rain and landslides are in jeopardy of never reopening. Already unprofitable on their own (but part of the overall-profitable JR West system), the high cost of reconstruction may be the breaking point.https://twitter.com/B_Leachtielu/status/1021730449406681091 …
also in tangentially related good news, the Yufuin-no-Mori train is finally back on its original route--after spending over a year running detours due to natural disasters https://www.jrkyushu.co.jp/english/pdf/20180714_YufuinNews_english.pdf …