Chikuhō Electric Railroad Line

Chikutetsu 3000 Series train

The Chikuhō Electric Railroad Line (筑豊電気鉄道線, Chikuhō Denki Tetsudō-sen) is a Japanese railway line of Chikuhō Electric Railroad (筑豊電気鉄道, Chikuhō Denki Tetsudō) in Fukuoka Prefecture connecting Kurosaki-Ekimae in Kitakyūshū and Chikuhō-Nōgata in Nōgata. The line does not have an official name. The company and the line is also called Chikutetsu (筑鉄). The company is a subsidiary of Nishi-Nippon Railroad (Nishitetsu), founded in 1951. The line originally had a through service with the Nishitetsu Kitakyūshū Line, a tram line closed in 2000. Because of this, the Chikutetsu Line only uses tram vehicles. However, the line is legally classified as a railway under Railway Business Act, not a tramway under Tram Act, and the line does not share any segments with public roads.

History

The Kyūshū Electric Tramway Co. opened the Orio - Moji line in 1914. In 1924 the company received approval to extend the line 47km to Fukuoka, and construction started in 1928. About 1km had been built when a major fraud involving its funding was discovered, and construction was suspended in 1931, and abandoned in 1933.

Following the creation of the Nishitetsu Co., it revived the construction plan in 1949, and in 1954 committed to the construction of a 28km line, including a 360m bridge over the Ongagawa (which was built) and a 4.5km tunnel (which was not). The 16km Kurosaki - Chikuho section opened between 1956 and 1959, but no further construction occurred, and extension plans were abandoned in 1971.

Basic data

• Distance: 16 kilometres (9.9 mi)
• Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)
• Stations: 21
• Track: double
• Traction: electric 600 V DC, overhead wire
• Railway signalling: automatic

Stations

• Kurosaki-Ekimae (connection: Kurosaki Station)
• Nishi-Kurosaki
• Kumanishi
• Hagiwara
• Anō
• Morishita
• Imaike
• Einomaru
• Sangamori
• Nishiyama
• Tōritani
• Higashi-Nakama
• Chikuhō-Nakama
• Dotenouchi
• Chikuhō-Katsuki
• Kusubashi
• Shin-Koyanose
• Koyanose
• Ongano
• Ganda
• Chikuhō-Nōgata (connection: Nōgata Station)

See also

• List of railway companies in Japan
• List of railway lines in Japan

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chikuho Electric Railroad.

• Chikutetsu official website (Japanese)

References

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

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