Primarily, local governments along the Kusatsu Line except for Ritto City were reluctant to bear the costs of a new Shinkansen station, and many of them requested the double-tracking of the Kusatsu Line instead of the construction of a new Shinkansen station.
もとより栗東市を除く沿線自治体は新幹線新駅の費用負担に消極的で、新幹線新駅よりむしろ草津線複線化を求める声も多かった。