East Japan Railway announced on November 27 that it is considering terminating train operations on a local line in Chiba Prefecture citing a severe decline in users.

The company said it will be discussing with local municipalities to terminate operations between Kururi and Kazusa-Kameyama stations on the Kururi Line.

It will be running buses that stop at hospitals, high schools and tourist destinations on the 9.6-kilometer route instead.

The train line saw a more-than 90 percent decrease in its users since 1987.

If JR East ends the train service, which has a history of roughly 90 years, it will be the first time the company scraps a train service apart from those that were suspended due to natural disasters.