Hiroo line
| Hiroo line | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 JNR class 9600 steam locomotive , permanently parked in Aikoku
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| Route length: | 84.0 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1067 mm ( cape track ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maximum slope : | 20 ‰ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minimum radius : | 300 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dual track : | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Hiroo Line ( 広 尾 線 , Hiroo-sen ) was a railway line in the southeast of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō . It was opened in several stages between 1929 and 1932 and was in operation until 1987.
description
The Hiroo line was a 84.0 km branch line that branched off from the Nemuro main line in Obihiro . It was Cape gauge , single-track and not electrified. The Hiroo Line ran south through the Tokachi Plain , along the Satsunai River. She then crossed the Rekifune Valley and finally reached Hiroo on the coast of the Pacific Ocean . 17 train stations and demand stops were developed.
The reception buildings of the five former train stations or stops Aikoku, Kōfuku, Chūrui, Taiki and Hiroo have been preserved and are used as exhibition rooms or bus shelters. In addition, short sections of rail were left there, on which various railway vehicles are permanently parked.
history
The construction of this line was first stipulated in the appendix of the revised Railway Construction Act of 1922. The opening took place in three stages: on November 2, 1929 from Obihiro to Nakasatsunai (28.1 km), on October 10, 1930 from Nakasatsunai to Taiki (32.5 km) and on November 5, 1932 from Taiki to Hiroo (23 , 4 km). The railway construction law also provided for the extension of the line from Hiroo past Cape Erimo to Samani , where it would meet the Hidaka main line , which opened in 1937 . However, due to a lack of demand, this never happened. In the years 1953 to 1960, the Japanese State Railways opened several new stops after the introduction of diesel multiple units.
In March 1973, the travel magazine Shin Nippon Kikō of the public television broadcaster NHK reported in detail about the Hiroo line, whereupon the number of passengers rose many times over. The reason for this was the peculiar names of the stops Aikoku and Kōfuku, which translated means "land of love" and "happiness". The numerous visitors bought tickets “from the land of love for happiness”, as well as souvenirs of all kinds.
The tourist boom subsided after a few years and, like numerous other rural routes, the Hiroo line also generated major deficits. On May 3, 1975, the last train pulled by a steam locomotive ran. The state railway stopped freight traffic on September 10, 1982 and shut down the entire Hiroo line on February 2, 1987. It was replaced by a bus line operated by Tokachi Bus . Three decades after the shutdown, Aikoku and Kōfuku stops remain a popular tourist destination, with visitors (including many from Taiwan ) getting there mostly by bus.
List of train stations
| Surname | km | Connecting lines | location | place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obihiro ( 帯 広 ) | 0.0 | Nemuro main line | Coord. | Obihiro |
| Yoda ( 依田 ) | 4.1 | Coord. | Makubetsu | |
| Kita-Aikoku ( 北 愛国 ) | 6.7 | Coord. | Obihiro | |
| Aikoku ( 愛国 ) | 11.0 | Coord. | ||
| Taishō ( 大 正 ) | 16.7 | Coord. | ||
| Kofuku ( 幸福 ) | 22.0 | Coord. | ||
| Nakasatsunai ( 中 札 内 ) | 28.1 | Coord. | Nakasatsunai | |
| Sarabetsu ( 更 別 ) | 35.4 | Coord. | Sarabetsu | |
| Kami-Sarabetsu ( 上 更 別 ) | 42.0 | Coord. | ||
| Chūrui ( 忠 類 ) | 50.0 | Coord. | Makubetsu | |
| Tokachi-Tōwa ( 十勝 東 和 ) | 54.4 | Coord. | Taiki | |
| Taiki ( 大樹 ) | 60.6 | Coord. | ||
| Ishizaka ( 石 坂 ) | 64.9 | Coord. | ||
| Toyoni ( 豊 似 ) | 71.2 | Coord. | Hiroo | |
| Notsuka ( 野 塚 ) | 76.3 | Coord. | ||
| Shinsei ( 新生 ) | 79.1 | Coord. | ||
| Hiroo ( 広 尾 ) | 84.0 | Coord. |
Web links
- Hiroo Line Information with Photo Galleries (Japanese)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Shunzō Miyawaki: 鉄 道 廃 線 跡 を 歩 く (hiking along disused railway lines) . tape 4 . JTB Publishing, Tokyo 1997, ISBN 978-4-533-02857-1 , pp. 201 .
- ↑ a b 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 , pp. 40 .
- ↑ 幸福 駅 に つ い て. www.koufuku-eki.com, 2017, accessed August 16, 2017 (Japanese).
- ↑ Yuya Noda: Hokkaido's 'Happiness' railway station has eyes for Taiwan's 'Love'. The Japan Times , January 7, 2016, accessed August 16, 2017 .
Map with all coordinates: