Furusato Ginga Line

Furusato Ginga Line
CR70 diesel multiple unit at Nishitomi
Route length:	140.0 km
Gauge :	1067 mm ( cape track )
Top speed:	85 km / h
Dual track :	No
Legend 0.0 Ikeda ( 池田 ) 1904– ↑ → Nemuro main line 1904– 5.7 Samamai ( 様 舞 ) 1950-2006 11.5 Takashima ( 高 島 ) 1910-2006 → Shokumin Railway 1933-1949 16.5 Ōmori ( 大 森 ) 1968-2006 20.8 Yūtari ( 勇 足 ) 1910-2006 Hokkaido Sugar Co. 23.5 Minami-Hombetsu ( 南 本 別 ) 1962-2006 27.3 Okamedō ( 岡 女 堂 ) 1995-2006 Honbetsu-kawa 29.8 Hombetsu ( 本 別 ) 1910-2006 36.2 Sembiri ( 仙 美 里 ) 1910-2006 Toshibetsu-gawa ← Ashoro Forest Railway 1927-1960 44.6 Ashoro ( 足 寄 ) 1910-2006 Toshibetsu-gawa 50.7 Aikappu ( 愛 冠 ) 1946-2006 Toshibetsu-gawa (2 ×) 54.0 Nishi-Issen ( 西 一線 ) 1960-2006 Toshibetsu-gawa 55.9 Shiohoro ( 塩 幌 ) 1961-2006 Toshibetsu-gawa 58.4 Kami-Toshibetsu ( 上 利 別 ) 1961-2006 Toshibetsu-gawa (3 ×) 62.2 Sasamori ( 笹 森 ) 1948-2006 66.5 Oyochi ( 大 誉 地 ) 1913-2006 Toshibetsu-gawa 70.7 Kumbetsu ( 薫 別 ) 1958-2006 Toshibetsu-gawa (2 ×) → Toman Forest Railway 1925-1965 ← Rikubetsu Forest Railway 1925-1953 77.4 Rikubetsu ( 陸 別 ) 1910-2006 83.1 Bunsen ( 分 線 ) 1958-2006 Toshibetsu-gawa (3 ×) 87.2 Kawakami ( 川 上 ) 1920-2006 93.5 Shō-Toshibetsu ( 小 利 別 ) 1911-2006 99.5 Sempoku (釧北 ) 1916-1957 Tokoro-gawa → Oketo forest railway 1921-1961 109.4 Oketo ( 置 戸 ) 1911-2006 113.8 Toyozumi ( 豊 住 ) 1955-2006 116.6 Sakaino ( 境 野 ) 1922-2006 118.4 Nishi-Kunneppu ( 西 訓 子 府 ) 1956-2006 121.4 Nishitomi ( 西 富 ) 1955-2006 123.5 Kunneppu ( 訓 子 府 ) 1911-2006 125.3 Honami ( 穂 波 ) 1957-2006 127.4 Hinode ( 日 ノ 出 ) 1947-2006 129.4 Hirosato ( 広 郷 ) 1955-2006 132.2 Kami-Tokoro ( 上 常 呂 ) 1911-2006 Kitami Sugar Factory 135.5 Hokkōsha ( 北 光 社 ) 1948-2006 Muka-gawa Kitami Pulp Mill ↓ → main Sekihoku line 1911– 140.0 Kitami ( 北 見 ) 1911–

The Furusato Ginga Line ( Japanese ふ る さ と 銀河 線 , Furusato-Ginga-sen ) was a railway line in the east of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō . It connected Ikeda with Kitami and was opened in 1910/11. After over seven decades of operation by the state railway, the line became the property of JR Hokkaido in 1987 . It was about to be closed, but was transferred to the local private railway company Hokkaidō Chihoku Kōgen Tetsudō in 1989 . The new company did not succeed in operating the route profitably, which is why it had to be closed for good in 2006.

description

The Furusato Ginga line was Cape -lane, single-track and not electrified. A total of 33 train stations and demand stops were developed . Apart from the terminal stations, the trains could at eight Dodge cross. The maximum permissible speed between Oketo and Kitami was 85 km / h, otherwise 80 km / h. An automatic section block was used for train protection . The greatest distance between two stops was 15.9 km.

At Ikeda station, the Furusato-Ginga line branched off from the Nemuro main line . From there it followed the Toshibetsu-gawa River north. Until shortly before Ashoro it ran exclusively on the right (eastern) side of the valley. Via Rikubetsu she reached the Tokoro-gawa valley at Oketo. She followed this river in an easterly and northeastern direction to the center of Kitami, where she met the main Sekihoku line.

The Rikubetsu station is the location of the Furusato-Ginga-sen Rikubetsu Tetsudō ( ふ る さ と 銀河 線 り く べ つ 鉄 道 ) Railway Museum, which opened in 2008 and where a short section of the route has been preserved. In addition, the station buildings of Ashoro, Honbetsu and Rikubetsu are used as rest stops ( Michi no eki ).

history

The Railway Authority (later the Ministry of Railways ) opened the first section of the route known as the Abashiri Line ( 網 走 線 , Abashiri-sen ) on September 22, 1910 . It was 77.4 km long and led from Ikeda via Ashoro to Rikubetsu . A little over a year later, on September 25, 1911, the 62.6 km long section between Rikubetsu and Nokkeushi ( called Kitami from 1942 ) was opened. In 1912 the line was extended beyond Nokkeushi to Abashiri and renamed the Abashiri Main Line ( 網 走 本 線 , Abashiri-honsen ).

As the only route to the northeast of Hokkaidō at the time, the Abashiri main line was particularly important for forestry , as it enabled extensive forests and their resources to be developed. In addition, it was the only reliable access to this scarcely populated region in winter, because drift ice made shipping on the Sea of ​​Okhotsk impossible. After the completion of the more direct Sekihoku Main Line in 1932, traffic on the Abashiri Main Line decreased significantly.

The Japanese State Railways (JNR), which was responsible from 1949, began using diesel-powered rail buses for passenger transport on August 22, 1955 . On April 1, 1961, it divided the Abashiri main line: While the Kitami – Abashiri section became part of the Sekihoku main line, the Ikeda – Kitami section was given the new name Chihoku Line ( 池 北 線 , Chihoku-sen ). This was made up of the first Kanji characters from Ikeda ( 池田 ) and Kitami ( 北 見 ) in the On reading . On April 25, 1975, the last freight trains pulled by steam locomotives ran.

Diesel multiple unit of the CR70 series in Ikeda (August 2000)

Based on the law for the restructuring of the state railway finances passed in 1980, the JNR classified the Chihoku line as one of those routes that should be shut down and switched to bus operation due to the particularly low cost recovery rate . Since trouble-free bus operation could not be guaranteed in winter, this measure was initially not implemented after a second assessment in 1984. As part of the privatization of the state railway, the line passed into the possession of JR Hokkaido on April 1, 1987 ; on the same day all freight traffic was stopped.

In order to maintain rail operations on a permanent basis, the affected cities and municipalities decided on November 14, 1988 to found a rail company with local sponsorship. Two months later, the Hokkaidō Prefecture assured its financial participation and on March 9, 1989, the Hokkaidō Chihoku Kōgen Tetsudō was formally founded . This took over the route on June 4, 1989 and renamed it with the timetable change on August 6, 1989 in Furusato-Ginga-Linie . The new name, which can be translated as “hometown galaxy line”, had been chosen in a public competition and was reminiscent of the 1927 novel Ginga Tetsudō no Yoru (“Night on the Galactic Railway”) by Miyazawa Kenji or on the derived anime film Ginga Tetsudō 999 by Gisaburō Sugii from 1985.

The bursting of the bubble economy in 1990 led to a severe crisis in the regional economy in the subsequent “ lost decade ”, which in turn resulted in increased rural exodus . Falling passenger numbers had a detrimental effect on the finances of the new railway company and the Hokkaidō Prefecture, as the main shareholder, was not willing to bear a higher share of the deficit. For these reasons, the company decided to dissolve itself. The Furusato Ginga line was closed on April 21, 2006 and replaced by a bus line from the company Hokkaidō Kitami Bus .

List of train stations

Honami stop (August 2005)

Snow blower in Rikubetsu station (June 2007)

Station sign for the Bunsen stop (July 2009)

Surname	km	Connecting lines	location	place
Ikeda ( 池田 )	000.0	Nemuro main line	Coord.	Ikeda
Samamai ( 様 舞 )	005.7		Coord.
Takashima ( 高 島 )	011.5		Coord.
Ōmori ( 大 森 )	016.5		Coord.
Yūtari ( 勇 足 )	020.8		Coord.	Honbetsu
Minami Honbetsu ( 南 本 別 )	023.5		Coord.
Okamedō ( 岡 女 堂 )	027.3		Coord.
Honbetsu ( 本 別 )	029.8		Coord.
Senbiri ( 仙 美 里 )	036.2		Coord.
Ashoro ( 足 寄 )	044.6		Coord.	Ashoro
Aikappu ( 愛 冠 )	050.7		Coord.
Nishi-Issen ( 西 一線 )	054.0		Coord.
Shiohoro ( 塩 幌 )	055.9		Coord.
Kamitoshibetsu ( 上 利 別 )	058.4		Coord.
Sasamori ( 笹 森 )	062.2		Coord.
Oyochi ( 大 誉 地 )	066.5		Coord.
Kunbetsu ( 薫 別 )	070.7		Coord.	Rikubetsu
Rikubetsu ( 陸 別 )	077.4		Coord.
Bunsen ( 分 線 )	083.1		Coord.
Kawakami ( 川 上 )	087.2		Coord.
Shōtoshibetsu ( 小 利 別 )	093.5		Coord.
Oketo ( 置 戸 )	109.4		Coord.	Oketo
Toyozumi ( 豊 住 )	113.8		Coord.
Sakaino ( 境 野 )	116.6		Coord.
Nishi-Kunneppu ( 西 訓 子 府 )	118.4		Coord.	Kunneppu
Nishitomi ( 西 富 )	121.4		Coord.
Kunneppu ( 訓 子 府 )	123.5		Coord.
Honami ( 穂 波 )	125.3		Coord.
Hinode ( 日 ノ 出 )	127.4		Coord.
Hirosato ( 広 郷 )	129.4		Coord.	Kitami
Kami-Tokoro ( 上 常 呂 )	132.2		Coord.
Hokkōsha ( 北 光 社 )	135.5		Coord.
Kitami ( 北 見 )	140.0	Sekihoku main line	Coord.

Web links

Commons : Furusato-Ginga-Linie  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Various articles on the Furusato Ginga line (Japanese)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Kazuo Tanaka: 写真 で 見 る 北海道 の 鉄 道 (Hokkaidō's railroad in photos) . tape 1 . Hokkaidō Shinbunsha, Sapporo 2002, ISBN 978-4-89453-220-5 , pp. 236-237 .
2. ↑ 消 え た 鉄 路 、 進 む 過 疎 北海道 ・ ふ る さ と 銀河 線 廃 止 か ら 10 年. Yahoo Japan April 21, 2016; archived from the original on April 19, 2016 ; Retrieved July 23, 2017 (Japanese). 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Committee for Contemporary History Kitami (ed.): 北 見 現代史 (Modern History of Kitami) . Kitami 2007, p. 950-954 .
4. ↑ Tanaka: 写真 で 見 る 北海道 の 鉄 道. Pp. 314-315.
5. ↑ 北 見 現代史. P. 978.
6. ↑ 北 見 現代史. P. 981.

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap