Kintetsu Hachiōji Line

Kintetsu Hachiōji Line

Narrow gauge train at Nishihino Station
Overview
Type Commuter rail
Locale Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture
Termini Hinaga
Nishihino
Stations 2
Operation
Opened August 15, 1912
Operator(s) Kintetsu
Technical
Line length 1.3 km (0.8 mi)
No. of tracks 1
Track gauge 762 mm (2 ft 6 in)
Electrification Overhead, 750V DC
Route map
Legend
All lines are Kintetsu unless otherwise noted
Nagoya
Nagoya Line
Yunoyama Line
Kintetsu-Yokkaichi (Suwa)
Nagoya Line
Yunoyama-Utsube link - Closed 1964
Utsube Line
Minami-Hamada Closed 1944
Akahori
0.0 Hinaga
Hachiōji Line
Utsube Line
0.6 Higashihino Closed 1952, Abandoned 1969
1.3 Nishihino (II)
1.5 Nishihino (I)
1.8 Shimizubashi Closed 1952, Abandoned 1969
2.3 Muroyama Closed 1974, Abandoned 1976
3.0 Ise-Hachiōji Closed 1974, Abandoned 1976

The Kintetsu Hachiōji Line (近鉄八王子線 Kintetsu Hachiōji-sen?), often called the Kintetsu Nishihino Line (近鉄西日野線 Kintetsu Nishihino-sen) is a railway line of the Japanese private railway company Kintetsu, connecting Hinaga Station and Nishihino Station, both in the city of Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, Japan. With a total length of 1.3 km, it is the shortest of all the Kintetsu train lines.

The line connects with the Kintetsu Utsube Line at Hinaga. Because all trains on the Hachiōji Line offer direct service to Kintetsu-Yokkaichi via the Utsube Line, the two lines are collectively called the Utsube-Hachiōji Line (内部・八王子線 Utsube-Hachiōji-sen).

The line is called the "Hachiōji Line" because it originally ran to Ise-Hachiōji Station, however for many years the endpoint has been Nishihino.

Unlike major Kintetsu lines, the line does not accept PiTaPa or ICOCA which are smart card ticketing systems.

Contents

Narrow gauge railway

The line was originally built as a tram and so the gauge was especially narrow. Later on the line was legally upgraded from a tram to a light rail, however the gauge was not widened as it was on the vast majority of Japan's train lines. Today, there are only four 762 mm gauge train lines in operation in Japan, and the Hachiōji Line is both the oldest and shortest of those four.

762 mm railways of Japan

History

The Hachiōji Line was built in 1912 and, like the Utsube Line, is one of Kintetsu's oldest train lines. The Hachiōji Line was actually built first, but became a branch line after the original section of what is now the much longer Utsube Line was opened later the same year. Steam engines ran on the line for many years until 1928 when gasoline-powered trains were introduced, which ran until the line was electrified in 1948.

Ownership of the line has shifted a few times during its existence. Mie Tramway built the line but control was given to Mie Railway (Santetsu) shortly after in 1916. Then in 1944, Santetsu, along with six other companies, merged to form Mie Transport (Sanco). Twenty years later, the railway department of Sanco split off to become a separate company called Mie Electric Railway (Sanden), however this organization was short-lived as it was bought up by railway giant Kinki Nippon Railway (Kintetsu) the following year, and thus in 1965 the line came under its current name and ownership.

Flood damage

As the line's official name indicates, Nishihino is not the original terminus. When the line was built it was 2.8 kilometers in length and extended past Nishihino and terminated in Yokkaichi's Hachiōji neighborhood and for over 60 years, trains went all the way to Ise-Hachiōji Station. However, in 1974, there was an especially heavy rainstorm that flooded the Tempaku River which runs right alongside the line. The track suffered from severe water damage and the entire line was temporarily shutdown for repairs. Although the reason is not clear, the track was only repaired as far as Nishihino and the rest of the line was abandoned. The remainder of the line, only 1.3 kilometers long, was reopened in 1976.

Because so many years have passed since the endpoint was changed to Nishihino, younger generations primarily refer to the line as the Nishihino Line, a name that is even used by some Kintetsu train conductors. It is possible the line's name will be officially changed in the upcoming years.

Timeline

Services

 LO  Local (普通 futsū)

For Yokkaichi
For Nishihino
Locals stop at every station.
All trains offer conductor-less (One-man) service.
Trains run twice per hour in both directions.

Stations

Station Dist. (km) Connections Location
Hinaga 日永 0.0 Kintetsu: Utsube Line Yokkaichi Mie
Prefecture
Nishihino 西日野 1.3

References

External links

1,435 mm lines
Osaka • Nagoya Line Area Osaka Line • Shigi Line • Nagoya Line • Yunoyama Line • Suzuka Line • Yamada Line • Toba Line • Shima Line
Nara • Kyoto Line Area Namba Line • Nara Line • Ikoma Line • Keihanna Line • Kyoto Line • Kashihara Line • Tenri Line • Tawaramoto Line
1,067 mm lines Minami-Osaka Line • Dōmyōji Line • Nagano Line • Gose Line • Yoshino Line
762 mm lines Utsube Line • Hachiōji Line
Funicular lines Ikoma Cable Line • Nishi-Shigi Cable Line
Ropeway lines Katsuragi Ropeway
Former lines Iga Line • Hokusei Line • Yōrō Line