Chichibu Railway

Chichibu Railway Co., Ltd.
秩父鉄道株式会社
Type	Public K.K. (JASDAQ: 9012)
Industry	Railway
Founded	8 November 1899
Headquarters	Kumagaya, Saitama, Japan
Key people	Shigetoshi Arafune (CEO)
Number of employees	356 (601 incl. related businesses)
Website	www.chichibu-railway.co.jp

The Chichibu Railway Co., Ltd. (秩父鉄道株式会社, Chichibu Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha) is a small-sector private railway company operating two railway lines in northern Saitama Prefecture, Japan. In addition to its railway operations, the company deals in the real estate and tourism industries. It managed the Mitsumine Ropeway (三峰ロープウェイ) until it closed in December 2007.

Taiheiyo Cement is its largest shareholder, and one of Chichibu Railway's main operations is the transportation of limestone from Mount Bukō. The railway's passenger services concentrate on the tourism industry, as there are popular destinations along the line. A train hauled by a steam locomotive also operates regularly during some seasons, attracting tourists from around the country.

Lines

A Chichibu Railway 6000 series train

Railway lines

Chichibu Mainline (秩父本線): from Hanyū to Mitsumineguchi (passenger line)
Mikajiri Line (三ヶ尻線): from Takekawa to Kumagaya Kamotsu Terminal (freight line)

Aerial tramway lines

Mitsumine Ropeway at Mitsumineguchi (closed in December 2007)

History

8 November 1899 - Founded as Jōbu Railway (Headquartered in now-defunct Nihonbashi Ward, Tokyo City).^[1]
7 October 1901 - Started operations between Kumagaya and Yorii.^[1]
1916 - Company name changed to Chichibu Railway.
1921 - Started operations between Hokubu Railway's Hanyu station and Gyoda Station (now Gyodashi station).
1922 - Chichibu Railway acquired Hokubu Railway.^[1]
1930 - Started operations on the full line between Hanyu and Mitsumineguchi.
1954 - Started direct operations with the Tōbu Tōjō Line.
1980 - Headquarters moved to Kumagaya, Saitama.
1988 - Started operations of a steam locomotive-hauled train, the Paleo Express.
1989 - Started direct operations with Seibu Railway.
1997 - Moved bus operations to a separate entity, Chichibu Railway Sightseeing Bus Co., Ltd.

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia

1 2 3 Terada, Hirokazu (July 2002). データブック日本の私鉄 (Databook: Japan's Private Railways). Japan: Neko Publishing. ISBN 4-87366-874-3.

External links

Chichibu Railway website (Japanese)

Chichibu Railway rolling stock

Local EMUs	100 series 500 series 800 series 1000 series 2000 series 5000 series 7000 series 7500 series 7800 series

Express EMUs	300 series 3000 series 6000 series

Locomotives	C58 ED38 DeKi 1 DeKi 100 DeKi 200 DeKi 300 DeKi 500

Coaches	12 series

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