Iyo Railway
The Iyo Railway (伊予鉄道 Iyo Tetsudō) is a transportation company in Matsuyama, Japan. The company or its lines are commonly known as Iyotetsu (伊予鉄). The private company operates railway, tram, and bus lines, and is a core company of Iyotetsu Group, which also operates other business such as department stores and travel agencies.
History
The company was founded on September 14, 1887, and its railway line, the first one in Shikoku, was opened on October 28, 1888. "Not only was it the first railway in Shikoku but it was also the third private railway in Japan."[1] The line was electrified in 1911.[2]
The company currently operates tram and conventional railway lines in 1,067 mm gauge, although in the past it did use narrow 762 mm gauge and standard gauge (1,435 mm gauge).
From August 2005, its lines introduced the IC e-card, a smart card ticketing system.
Lines
Railway lines
Iyotetsu operates the following train lines:
- ■ Takahama Line (高浜線): Takahama — Matsuyamashi
- ■ Yokogawara Line (横河原線): Matsuyamashi — Yokogawara
- ■ Gunchū Line (郡中線): Matsuyamashi — Gunchūkō
Takahama Line and Ōtemachi Line are known to have one of the few surviving level junctions crossing each other.
Tram lines
Iyotetsu operates the Matsuyama City Lines (松山市内線 Matsuyama Shinai-sen), a system of five interconnected tram (市内電車 shinai-densha) lines.
- Lines:, there are officially five lines.
- Jōhoku Line (城北線): Komachi — Heiwadōri-Itchōme
- Jōnan Line (城南線): Dōgo-Onsen — Nishi-Horibata, Kami-Ichiman — Heiwadōri-Itchōme
- Honmachi Line (本町線): Nishi-Horibata — Honmachi-Rokuchōme
- Ōtemachi Line (大手町線): Nishi-Horibata — Matsuyama-Ekimae — Komachi
- Hanazono Line (花園線): Matsuyamashi-Ekimae — Minami-Horibata
- Routes: There are five routes regularly in service by using one or more lines above.
- ■ Loop Line (Route 1; 環状線): Matsuyamashi-Ekimae — Minami-Horibata — Komachi — Kami-Ichiman — Minami-Horibata — Matsuyamashi-Ekimae (Only operates in this direction.)
- ■ Loop Line (Route 2; 環状線): Matsuyamashi-Ekimae — Minami-Horibata — Kami-Ichiman — Komachi — Minami-Horibata — Matsuyamashi-Ekimae (Only operates in this direction.)
- ■ Shieki Line (Route 3; 市駅線): Matsuyamashi-Ekimae — Kami-Ichiman — Dōgo-Onsen
- ■ JR Line (Route 5; JR線): Matsuyama-Ekimae — Minami-Horibata — Kami-Ichiman — Dōgo-Onsen
- ■ Honmachi Line (Route 6; 本町線): Honmachi-Rokuchōme — Minami-Horibata — Kami-Ichiman — Dōgo-Onsen
Bus lines
The company operates highway buses linking Matsuyama and the major cities of Japan, including Tokyo, Ōsaka, Fukuyama, Takamatsu, Tokushima, Kōchi and others. It also operates a local network in and around the city.
Rolling stock
Trams
- MoHa 50 (since 1951)
- MoHa 2000 (since 1964)
- MoHa 2100 (since 2002)
Railway
- 700 series (since 1987, converted from former Keio 5000 series trains)
- 610 series (since 1995)
- 3000 series (since 2009, converted from former Keio 3000 series trains)
"Botchan Ressha"
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Iyo Railway also operates the Botchan Ressha, diesel-powered replicas of the original Iyotetsu locomotives, well-known from Natsume Sōseki's famous 1906 novel, Botchan. The current Botchan Ressha, operating on two of the city lines since 2001, reproduces the atmosphere of early train travel in Matsuyama.
See also
- List of railway companies in Japan
- List of light-rail transit systems
References
- ↑ Yuichiro Kishi, "Railway Operators in Japan 13: Shikoku Region", Japan Railway & Transport Review 39 (2004): 44.
- ↑ Brown, Colin (2007). "Tramway Opening and Closure Dates". Bullet-In Issue 61, p.25
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Iyo Railway. |
- Official website (Japanese)
- "Bus map" on the official website (English) (Korean) (Chinese)
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