Kominato Line

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Kominato Line (小湊鉄道線)
Kiha-200 diesel cars on the Kominato Line.
Info
Type Passenger
Terminals Goi
Kazusa-Nakano
Operation
Opened 1925
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. This line is not at all modernized, but the classic rail line brings 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.

Kominato Line train
Kominato Line train

[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.

[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
Tsukizaki 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
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