News Living under rail tracks: train companies entering real estate market

Photo credit: Kintetsu Real Estate Co.​

The rental houses were developed jointly by Kintetsu Real Estate Co. in Osaka city and Tokyo-based housing design firm LDK. The lengthy tracks with minimal joints over those homes are comparatively free of noise and vibration. Their ceilings, positioned 2 meters from the elevated rails, render the interior environment even more serene. Exposed steel frames characterize the garages. The car sheds are 3.7 meters wide and 7.4 meters deep each, creating an ambience resembling a child's secret base. Rents vary depending on the home's size. A single-room unit with a garage measures 56 square meters and carries the cheapest price tag of 145,000 JPY USD 995) per month, plus a 7,000-JPY communal fee. [...] Of Kintetsu Railway's 500-kilometre rail network, elevated tracks account for 42 km, nearly 10 per cent of the total. Therefore, the operator has much room for growth in the niche market. Five properties furnished with automobile garages were likewise newly built under tracks, a seven-minute walk from Harinakano Station in Osaka in August this year. Resident wannabes are alike on a list waiting for cancellations.

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