Fuji Kyūkō Line
| Fuji Kyūkō Line | |
|---|---|
 Ōtsuki – Kawaguchiko railway line (Fuji-Kyūkō line)
| |
| Route length: | 26.6 km |
| Gauge : | 1067 mm ( cape track ) |
| Power system : | 1500 V = |
The Fuji-Kyūkō Line ( Japanese 富士急 行 線 , Fuji-kyūkō-sen ) is a narrow-gauge , electrified branch line that branches off from the Chūō main line in Ōtsuki and overcomes almost 500 meters in altitude over a route length of 26.6 kilometers. It ends in Kawaguchiko train station, 857 meters high, near Kawaguchiko in Funatsu, a district of Fuji-Kawaguchiko , on the northern foothills of Mount Fuji . It is operated as a private railway in Yamanashi Prefecture by the company of the same name Fuji Kyūkō K.K. ( 富士急 行 株式会社 ; "Fuji Express AG"; short Fujikyū, 富士急 ; English Fujikyuko Co., Ltd ) based in the city of Fuji-Yoshida .
history
The Tsuru horse-drawn railway (Tsuru basha tetsudō) was opened in 1900 as a 762 mm (2 ft 6 inch) narrow-gauge railway from what would later become Tsuru-shi ("City of Tsuru") station to Shimo-Yoshida ("Lower Yoshida"). In 1903 the Fuji horse-drawn railway from Ōtsuki to Kasei was opened with a gauge of 610 mm (2 ft) . In the same year, the Tsuru horse-drawn railway was extended from today's Tsuru-shi to Kasei and from Shimo-Yoshida to Fuji-Yoshida Station (today's Fujisan Station). In 1921 the two companies merged. As a result, the Ōtsuki – Kasei section was re-gauged to 762 mm and the entire line electrified.
On September 18, 1926, the Fujisanroku Denki Tetsudō KK ( 富士 山麓 電 気 鉄 道 , about "electric railway at the foot of Mount Fuji"; English Fuji Electric Railway ) was founded. As a result, the Ōtsuki – Fujiyoshida section was converted to 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) and electrified with 1500 volts direct current . On August 24, 1950, the line extended from Fujiyoshida to today's end point, Kawaguchiko, was opened. The operating company was renamed on May 25, 1960 in Fujikyūkō.
Freight traffic on the line ceased on April 1, 1978. The Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn has maintained a partnership with the Fujikyū Bahn since 1991 and supports them in their endeavors to extend the route to the go-gôme , the 5th station [of 10 numbered stations on the way from the foot to the summit] ( 5th station ) on Mount Fuji at an altitude of about 2300 meters.
route
The 26.6 kilometer long Ōtsuki – Kawaguchiko line is divided into the 23.6 kilometer long section Ōtsuki – Fujisan (Ōtsuki line) and the three kilometer long Kawaguchiko line Fujisan – Kawaguchiko. Fujisan is a terminus that requires a change of direction. While the route takes a southwestern course up to there, it changes direction from Fujisan to northwest and thus allows a full view of Mount Fuji. The single-track line has a total of 18 stations, around half of which are designed as a crossing station . It was laid out in the so-called cape gauge (1067 mm) common in the Japanese route network .
business
Local trains run every 30 minutes and cover the distance with 18 stations in about an hour and a quarter. Express trains (Fujisan Express) run at different times, stopping at only three to six stations and some with panoramic and dining cars.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Fujikyuko Line. Fujikyuko Co., Ltd, 2016, accessed May 13, 2016 .
- ↑ Zermatt deepens friendship with Japan. In: Walliser Bote / Redaktion 1815.ch. Mengis Medien AG, November 20, 2015, accessed on May 13, 2016 .
Web links
- Website of Fuji Kyūkō (Japanese, parts also English, Chinese, Korean, Thai)