Fukui Railway Fukubu Line

The Fukui Railway Fukubu Line (福井鉄道福武線, Fukui Tetsudō Fukubu-sen^?) is a 21.4 km railway line operated by Fukui Railway in Fukui Prefecture. The line runs from Echizen-Takefu Station in Echizen to Tawaramachi and Fukui-Ekimae stations in Fukui. Although it has its own right-of-way for most of the route, the Fukubu Line runs with traffic as a tram line past Fukui-Shin Station.

History

The Fukubu Electric Railway (福武電気鉄道, Fukubu Denki Tetsudō^?) opened the Fukubu Line on 23 February 1924^[1] for the purposes of transporting soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army Sabae 36th Regiment between Takefu-Shin and Heiei (兵営^?) (now Shinmei) stations.

• 23 February 1924: Fukubu Electric Railway opens the Fukubu Line between Takefu-Shin and Heiei (now Shinmei).^[1]
• 26 July 1925: Heiei – Fukui-Shin (now Sekijūjimae) section opens.^[1]
• 5 June 1927: Sanjūhassha Station opens.^[2]
• 5 October 1927: Mizuochi Station opens^[2]; former transfer station for the Seiho Electric Railway.
• 13 August 1929: Kami-Sabae (now Sundome Nishi), Shimo-Sabae (now Nishiyama-Kōen) stations open.
• 15 October 1933: Fukui-Shin – Fukui-Ekimae section opens.
• 1 October 1935: Tobanaka Station opens; Nishi-Tobanaka Station (between Heiei and Tobanaka) closes.^[2]
• April 1939: Heiei Station is renamed Chūō Station.
• 1 April 1941: Express service begins.
• 1 August 1945: Fukubu Electric Railway merges with Seiho Electric Railway to form Fukui Railway.^[1]
• June 1946: Chūō Station renamed Shinmei Station.
• 12 July 1950: Hanandō – Fukui-Shin section double-tracked.
• 27 November 1950: Honmachi-dōri — Fukui-Shin section opens. Daimyōmachi Station is renamed Honmachi-dōri Station.
• 1 April 1962: Keyamachi Station moved and renamed Kōenguchi Station. Fujishima-Jinja-mae Station (between Kidayotsutsuji and Kōenguchi) closes.^[2]
• 11 December 1964: Matsumoto-dōri Station (between Saibanshomae and Tawaramachi) closes. Saibanshomae Station moved towards Tawaramachi.
• 1 September 1969: Service between Hanandō, Fukui-Ekimae, and Tawaramachi abolished; all trains run through to Takefu-Shin Station.
• 2 October 1979: Freight services discontinued.^[1]
• 10 April 1980: Centralized traffic control (CTC) introduced.^[1]
• 1 August 1985: Driver-only operation introduced on morning and evening services.^[1]
• 10 April 1987: Shimo-Sabae Station renamed Nishiyama-Kōen Station.
• 1 October 1989: Hanandō-Minami Station opens.
• 20 January 1993: All trains equipped with ATS.^[1]
• 15 April 1993: Hanandō-Minami Station renamed Bell-mae Station.
• 20 September 1997: Harmony Hall Station opens.
• 30 November 1998: Daytime service interval changed to 20 minutes.^[1]
• 15 July 2002: Honmachi-dōri Station (between Kōenguchi and Shiyakushomae) closed.
• 1 December 2003: Part of Shiyakushomae — Fukui-Ekimae section single-tracked due to construction around Fukui Station.
• 30 September 2004: Semi-express service abolished.
• January-March 2006: All station platforms modified to serve low-floor vehicles.
• 1 April 2006: Low-floor trains enter service. Last departure time brought forward 30 minutes.
• 16 December 2007: Daytime shuttle trains begin service between Fukui-Ekimae and Tawaramachi.

On March 25, 2010, Sports-Kōen Station was established between the Nishi-Takefu and Iehisa stations. At the same time, five stations were renamed: Takefu-Shin to Echizen-Takefu; Nishi-Takefu to Kitago; Kami-Sabae to Sundome-Nishi; Fukui-Shin to Sekijūjimae; and Saibanshomae to Jin'ai-Joshikōkō.^[3][4]

Station list

• All stations are located in Fukui Prefecture.
• Express trains stop at stations marked "●" and pass those marked "｜". Local trains stop at all stations.
• Staff:
  • ◎ - Present all day
  • ○ - Present except early mornings and late nights
  • ◇ - Present during peak hours only
  • △ - Present during holidays only
  • × - Unstaffed
  • ※ - Present during events only

References

External links

• Fukui Railway (Japanese)