Kominato Line

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Kominato Line (小湊鉄道線)
Kiha-200 diesel cars on the Kominato Line.
Info
Type	Passenger
Start station	Goi
End station	Kazusa-Nakano
Operation
Opened	1925
Owner
Operator(s)	Kominato Railway
Technical
Line length	39.1km
Gauge	narrow (1067mm)

The Kominato Line (小湊鉄道線, kominato tetsudō sen^?) is a rail line in Japan, operated by Kominato Railway (小湊鐵道, kominato tetsudō^?), which runs from Goi Station in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture to Kazusa-Nakano Station in Ōtaki, Chiba Prefecture. Although the area this line covers is not so far from Tokyo ( actually JR East Sōbu Line and Uchibō Line through rapid service will bring you to Goi Station, the start station of this line in about an hour from Tokyo Station ), Kominato Line has no double track section nor electrified section. Old type diesel cars manufactured between 1961~1977 runs through the hilly area of Bōsō Peninsula, and it has many antique station buildings along the way. As you see, this line is not at all modernized, but the classic rail line bring you back old memories, and so one day trips by Kominato Line are somewhat popular among people around Tokyo. Kominato Line trains often appear on the TV screen, too.

[edit] History

Kominato Line was named after Kominato Town in Chiba Prefecture (modern-day part of Kamogawa City), a town facing the Pacific and famous as the birthplace of Nichiren. Originally they planned that Kominato Line connects Goi Station to Kominato Town across the hills of Boso Peninsula, but the railway could not finally get to Kominato Town.

On 7 March 1925, the railway from Goi Station to Satomi Station was opend. On 1 September 1926, it was extended to Tsukisaki Station, and by 16 May 1928, the whole way to Kazusa-Nakano Station was opend. By then only 2/3 of the way to Kominato was opend, but they had had difficulty in fund-raising, and fortunately Kominato Line had been connected to Kihara Line* opend by the Railway Ministry at Kazusa-Nakano Station and the construction of trans-peninsula railway route was accomplished, so they decided not to extend Kominato Line any more.

• Kihara Line: The rail line from Ōhara Station of Sotobō Line to Kazusa-Nakano Station. It is modern-day Isumi Railway Isumi Line.

[edit] Stations

Station	Japanese	Distance (km) (from Goi)	Transfers	Location
Goi	五井	0.0	JR East Uchibō Line	Ichihara	Chiba Prefecture
Kazusa-Murakami	上総村上	2.5
Amaariki	海士有木	5.4
Kazusa-Mitsumata	上総三又	7.2
Kazusa-Yamada	上総山田	8.6
Kōfūdai	光風台	10.6
Umatate	馬立	12.4
Kazusa-Ushiku	上総牛久	16.4
Kazusa-Kawama	上総川間	18.5
Kazusa-Tsurumai	上総鶴舞	20.0
Kazusa-Kubo	上総久保	22.0
Takataki	高滝	23.8
Satomi	里見	25.7
Itabu	飯給	27.5
Tsukisaki	月崎	29.8
Kazusa-Ōkubo	上総大久保	32.3
Yōrō-Keikoku	養老渓谷	34.9
Kazusa-Nakano	上総中野	39.1	Isumi Railway Isumi Line	Ōtaki