Itō Line

The Itō Line (伊東線, Itō-sen^?) is a trunk railway line of the East Japan Railway Company which connects Atami and Itō Stations, along the east coast of Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. From Itō, the line continues south to Shimoda under the privately owned and operated Izu Kyūkō Line.

History

Initial plans called for the Japan National Railway to build a spur line linking Atami on the Tōkaidō Main Line with Shimoda. However, funding was limited in the 1930s due to a combination of a tight fiscal policy under Prime Minister Osachi Hamaguchi during the Great Depression, and a number of technical issues, The projected route of the Itō line along the mountainous east coast of the Izu Peninsula required numerous tunnels and bridges. Workers digging a tunnel near Usami encountered problems with underground hot springs, similar to that experienced in the construction of the Tanna Tunnel, which had recently been completed years later than originally projected and far over budget.

On March 30, 1935 the initial 8.7 kilometer section of the Itō Line linking Atami with Ajiro was opened. The second (8.3 kilometer) section from Ajiro to Itō was completed on December 15, 1938. Further work was delayed, and then canceled due to the outbreak of World War II.

Construction was not resumed until 1961, when the private-sector Tokyu Corporation acquired the rights to complete the line from Itō to Shimoda and established the Izukyū Corporation to manage construction and operations of this section.

Station list