Kurihara Den'en Railway Line

Kurihara Den'en Railway Line
Near Hosokura Mine Park Mae in 2006
Line length:25.7 km (16.0 mi)
Track gauge:1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Legend
JR East: Tōhoku Main Line
0.0 Ishikoshi
 1.6 Aramachi
3.1 Wakayanagi
4.6 Yachihata
 5.7 Ōokashōmae
 7.2 Ōoka
 9.3 Sawabe
 12.8 Tsukumo
 14.4 Sugihashi
 15.4 Toyasaki
 17.1 Kurikoma
 17.9 Kurihara Tamachi
 19.1 Omatsu
 21.6 Uguisuzawa
 23.8 Uguisuzawa Kōgyōkōkō Mae
 25.7 Hosokura Mine Park Mae

The Kurihara Den'en Railway Line (くりはら田園鉄道線 Kurihara Den'en Tetsudō sen) was a rural rail line in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, abandoned on March 31, 2007. Running from Ishikoshi Station in Tome, Miyagi with a connection to the Tōhoku Main Line, extending westward to inland Hosokura Mine Park Mae Station in Kurihara, along central Kurihara. This line used to be called for short Kuriden (栗電 or くりでん) because the preceding name of the operator was the Kurihara Electric Railway (栗原電鉄 Kurihara Dentetsu).

The line was initially constructed for ore of Hosokura Mine (細倉鉱山 Hosokura Kōzan) at the end of the line which was closed in 1988.

Description

As of 2007

Infrastructure

The operator introduced diesel multiple units (DMU) on the reorganization in 1995, but the old 750 V DC electric installation remained for economic reasons. It was one of few railways then in Japan that operated with an obsolete semaphore signal system and non-automatic blocking system.

Operation and service

All trains consisted of a single car without a conductor. The fare was twice as high as comparable distances on Japan Railways lines. Only three of the sixteen stations, namely Wakayanagi, Sawabe, Kurikoma were regularly staffed.

History

Originally the line was 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauged, constructed by Kurihara Tramway (栗原軌道 Kurihara Kidō) and opened in 1921, later renamed to Kurihara Railway (栗原鉄道 Kurihara Tetsudō) in 1941 and again to Kurihara Dentetsu in 1955.

The closure of Hosokura Mine in 1988 reduced freight traffic. The company had hoped for tourists to the Hosokura Mine Park, an amusement park built at the mine site. But this effort failed to stop the decrease of passengers. Municipalities decided to retain the operator as a third sector (in Japanese sense) in 1993, renamed on April 1, 1995 to Kurihara Den'en Railway.

The company has curtailed investment and maintenance measures and made some efforts to increase passengers. But the rapid shift to car traffic has overwhelmed railways everywhere in Japan since the 1990s. Miyagi Prefecture had subsidized the deficit for several years, but in 2001 gave notice to the municipalities of a future suspension of the subsidy. In December 2003 they decided to close the railway in March 2007.

Timeline

On the last day in 2007

Stations

Typical unmanned station, Aramachi

As of 2007. All stations were in Miyagi Prefecture.

Ishikoshi 石越
In Tome
Aramachi 荒町
Wakayanagi 若柳
Yachihata 谷地畑
Ōokashōmae 大岡小前
Ōoka 大岡
Sawabe 沢辺
Tsukumo 津久毛
Sugihashi 杉橋
Toyasaki 鳥矢崎
Kurikoma 栗駒
Kurihara Tamachi 栗原田町
Omatsu 尾松
Uguisuzawa 鶯沢
Uguisuzawa Kōgyōkōkō Mae 鶯沢工業高校前
Hosokura Mine Park Mae 細倉マインパーク前
In Kurihara

Rolling stock

KD 95 type
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