Choshi Railway
| Choshi Railway | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Construction work near Moto-Chōshi ( 本 銚 子 ), December 1913
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| Route length: | 6.4 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1067 mm ( cape track ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Chōshi Railway ( Japanese 銚 子 電 気 鉄 道 線 , Chōshi Denki Tetsudōsen ) extends in the city of Chōshi between the city center and the district of Tokawa ( 外 川 町 ) and is the only line of the Japanese railway company Chōshi Denki Tetsudō KK ( 銚 子 道 株 気 鉄会 社 ). The single-track route in Cape Gauge is 6.4 km long with ten stops. The terminus Chōshi ( 銚 子 駅 , -eki ) is next to the station of the same name on the JR East state railway on the Sōbu main line .
history
A 5.9 km long line with four stations to Inubō ( 犬吠 駅 , -eki ) was originally built in December 1913 as a Chōshi excursion train ( 銚 子 遊 覧 鉄 道 , Chōshi Yūran Tetsudō ). Army soldiers laid the tracks in just eleven days. The locomotives used were two steam-powered locomotives that were bought second-hand by the State Railways and were built by the English company Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company . In addition, four wagons were acquired. The unusual architectural style of some stations is explained by the history of the route from the excursion train. At the end of November 1917, operations were stopped again. The stations remained, but the tracks were removed and their bed was used for a bus route.
1922-1948
The in October 1922 newly founded Chōshi Tetsudō KK ( 銚 子 鉄 道 株式会社 ) resumed rail operations on the now extended line to Tokawa, initially with gasoline-powered locomotives in July 1923 at six stations. The locomotives proved to be unreliable. The line was electrified in 1925 with 600 V direct current and three used electric locomotives were bought. Damaged by air raids on July 20, 1945, traffic had to be suspended until December, after which limited operation with steam locomotives borrowed from JNR was possible until electrical operation began again in April 1946.
post war period
The operating company was named in August 1948 in Chōshi Denki Tetsudō ( 銚 子 遊 覧 鉄 道 ). The number of passengers decreased from 1955 with just under 1¾ million to a little under 1½ million in 1980. The following decade saw a drop of almost 40% below the million mark after 1990. The previous low point was in 2005 with only 654,000 passengers. The average over the past few years has been around 750,000. In the 2010 financial year, Tokawa station counted an average of 209 passengers a day.
Freight was also transported until 1984, although the majority of this turnover had already collapsed in 1956 after the main customer, the Yamasa soy sauce factory, had a private track laid directly on the state line. The planned closure in 1963 was not carried out after public protests, the operation has been subsidized since then. The operating company also produces and sells rice cookies ( Sembei ) and confectionery. The turnover from these products is now twice as high as that from the fare.
At the beginning of the financial year 1995, the trains were switched to one-man operation, most of the stops are, unusual for Japan, without exit controllers. In 1998, embezzlement by the company president again brought the company to the brink of ruin.
route
The tracks are now designed for a maximum speed of 40 km / h, the average speed is 25 km / h. According to the timetable, it is a twenty minute journey between the two end stations. In 2013 the frequency was reduced from two trains per hour during the day to one train pair.
The workshops are located in Nakanochō ( 仲 ノ 町 ) at distance kilometers 0.5. The only alternative point is at Kasagami-Kurohae station ( 笠 上 黒 生 ; route kilometers 2.7). Nishi-Ashikajima ( 西海 鹿島 ; km 3.2) is the only station built after the war, it was opened in 1970. A popular destination is the lighthouse at Cape Inubō ( -埼 , -saki ; km 5.5). The frame of the old DeHa 501 train (built in 1939, purchased in 1972) was used there as a snack bar until 2012.
vehicles
The route is popular with rail enthusiasts, as vehicles that can no longer be found elsewhere are in use. Also, you are Edmondsonsche tickets from. So stayed z. E.g. the DeHa 701 trains built in 1942 as MoHa 50 were in service until 2010. An open excursion wagon Yu 101 created in 1985 from a converted freight wagon (built in 1969) was withdrawn from service in 2004 for safety reasons. The 2012 fleet consisted of one built in 1960 for the Tōkyō Metro's 1000 series (shut down in February 2015) and two second-hand trains bought from Iyotetsu ( 伊 予 鉄 ). These were originally made as part of the 2010 series for Keiō Dentetsu in 1962.
literature
- Terada Hirokazu: デ ー タ ブ ッ ク 日本 の 私 鉄 . Neko Publishing, Tokyo 2002, ISBN 4-87366-874-3 .
- Article in Japan Railfan Magazine ( 鉄 道 フ ァ ン , Tetsudō Fan ), u. a .: 銚 子 電 鉄 の 電車 た ち を 訪 ね て , No. 584, pp. 92–96 and ザ ・ 客車 一般 形 と 事業 車 の 現状 ２ , No. 614, p. 109
Individual evidence
- ↑ Local Railway Supported by Rail-fans (August 4, 2012)
Web links
- Operating company (only Japanese)
- Images Type Deha1000 (Japanese, Shift-JIS )
- 銚 子 電 気 鉄 道 に つ い て (detailed history of the vehicles)