Bibai railway line

Bibai railway line
Bibaitanzan station (around 1930)
Route length:	10.6 km
Gauge :	1067 mm ( cape track )
Maximum slope :	25  ‰
Minimum radius :	200 m
Legend ← Minamibibai branch line 1931-1973 0.0 Bibai ( 美 唄 ) 1891– ↑ → Hakodate main line 1891– Briquette factory 2.7 Signal station Higashi-Bibai 1942-1972 3.7 Tōmei ( 東 明 ) 1948-1972 Mitsui mine train 5.7 Bannosawa ( 盤 の 沢 ) 1925-1972 Mitsubishi Bibai power plant Bibai-gawa 7.5 Garo ( 我 路 ) 1914-1972 8.3 Bibaitanzan ( 美 唄 炭 山 ) 1914-1972 10.6 Tokiwadai ( 常 盤 台 ) 1924-1972

The Bibai Railway Line ( Japanese 美 唄 鉄 道 線 , Bibai Tetsudō-sen ) was a railway line in the center of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō . It belonged to the Mitsubishi concern and was in operation from 1914 to 1972.

description

The Cape-gauge line was 10.6 km long, single-track and not electrified. It was located entirely within the city of Bibai in the sub-prefecture Sorachi . In Bibai station it branched off from the Hakodate main line and led eastwards through the valley of the Bibai-gawa to Tokiwadai. The main purpose of the route was to transport the hard coal extracted from several mines , which was processed in a briquette factory and a coal-fired power station , among other things . There was also passenger transport of local importance.

history

In August 1906, the mining company Ishikari Sekitan received approval for the construction of a railway line with which coal mines east of Bibai should be developed. Due to legal disputes with several competitors, the construction work progressed only slowly and had to be stopped after three years. In 1911, a flood caused severe damage to the already completed section of the route . In 1913, Ishikari Sekitan renewed the concession, which had now expired, and continued the construction of the railway. On November 5, 1914, the 8.3 km long route from Bibai to Bibaitanzan was opened.

The Ishikari Sekitan company was sold to the Mitsubishi concern on October 11, 1915, along with the Bibai railway line . The new owner extended the route by 2.3 km and opened the section from Bibaitanzan to Tokiwadai on December 15, 1924. After a restructuring of the group, from April 25, 1950, rail operations were a division of Mitsubishi Mining . Due to the closure of the mines, Mitsubishi Mining closed the Bibai railway line on June 1, 1972.

List of train stations

Surname	km	Connecting lines	location	place
Bibai ( 美 唄 )	00.0	Hakodate main line	Coord.	Bibai
Tōmei ( 東 明 )	03.7		Coord.
Bannosawa ( 盤 の 沢 )	05.7		Coord.
Garo ( 我 路 )	07.5		Coord.
Bibaitanzan ( 美 唄 炭 山 )	08.3		Coord.
Tokiwadai ( 常 盤 台 )	10.6		Coord.

Web links

Commons : Bibai Railway Line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ City of Bibai (ed.): 美 唄 市 史. Bibai, 1975, pp. 442-444.
2. ↑ 軽 便 鉄 道 運輸 開始. In: Official Gazette. National Parliamentary Library , November 12, 1914; accessed November 20, 2017 (Japanese). 
3. ↑ Keisuke Imao: 日本 鉄 道 旅行 地 図 帳 (Japan Rail Travel Atlas ) . tape 1 Hokkaidō. Shinchosha, Tokyo 2008, ISBN 978-4-10-790019-7 .
4. ↑ 地方 鉄 道 運輸 開始. In: Official Gazette. National Parliamentary Library, December 26, 1924; accessed November 20, 2017 (Japanese). 
5. ↑ 運輸 省 告示 第 53 号. In: Official Gazette. National Library of Parliament, March 29, 1950; accessed November 20, 2017 (Japanese). 

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap