Family-friendly railcar reading takes place in Tokyo

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Family-friendly railcar reading takes place in Tokyo

TOKYO a picture book reading event took place on March 25 to promote family-friendly spaces inside train cars on all four lines of the Toei Subway system, which allows parents to leave their strollers there without folding them.

A total of 47 individuals from 22 families participated in the event, which was divided into morning and afternoon sessions and held inside an Asakusa Line Type 5500 railcar at the Magome train depot of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Bureau of Transportation.

The family-friendly spaces in the railcars can be spotted easily as their walls are decorated with popular characters, such as Thomas the Tank Engine and Miffy and Dan. During the event, children were listened to the stories of Darumachan to Tenguchan Little Daruma and Little Tengu and Gurunpa while surrounded by their favorite characters. After the picture book reading, some families took pictures.

A mother of a 5 year-old boy said he has loved trains since he was a baby. The child is happy and the parent can ride the train at ease, so I'm very thankful. After their implementation on the Toei Mita Line in July 2019, the family-friendly spaces adopted on the Toei Oedo Line became available on all four Toei Subway lines. The total will rise to 71 by late March 2025, while 34 trains are currently operating with family-friendly spaces.

Yasushige Kobayashi, 51, the section chief of the transportation bureau's train division, said that they wanted to create opportunities for more people to know about this space. It's natural for a young child to cry. I'd like to see the people around me show understanding. Little by little.