Hokkaidō Tankō Tetsudō
The Hokkaidō Tankō Tetsudō ( Japanese. 北海道 炭 礦 鉄 道 , "Hokkaidō Mining and Railway Company") was a Japanese company that was active in the fields of rail transport , coal mining and cargo shipping . It operated from 1889 to 1906 several railway lines on the island of Hokkaidō , which reached a length of around 330 km.
history
The company was founded on November 18, 1889 in Sapporo . A few weeks later, on December 11, 1889, it acquired the Kan'ei Horonai Tetsudō railway company and the Horonai coal mine east of Iwamizawa from the Japanese state . The railway line taken over was the oldest Hokkaidōs; it led from the mine via Iwamizawa and Sapporo to the port of Otaru . The opening of the first self-built railway line took place on July 5, 1891; it led from Iwamizawa via Sunagawa to further coal deposits near Utashinai. On February 1, 1892, a short branch line was added from Sunagawa to the Sorachi Bridge south of Takikawa .
The length of the route network doubled on August 1, 1892 with the opening of the route from Iwamizawa via Oiwake and Tomakomai to Muroran , where another port was created. To develop a second coalfield, the company built a line between Oiwake and Yūbari , which went into operation on November 1, 1892. A short extension within Muroran completed the route network of the Hokkaidō Tankō Tetsudō on July 1, 1897. On October 1, 1906, all railway lines were nationalized and placed under the control of the Cabinet Railway Office (later the Railway Ministry ).
After the assignment of the railway business, the company was renamed Hokkaidō Tankō Kisen ( 北海道 炭 礦 汽船 , "Hokkaidō Mining and Steamship Company"). It continued to be active in the coal industry and operated a fleet of cargo ships, and later two steelworks. At its peak in the 1950s, the company owned 18 mines and employed 25,000 people. Crises in the mining and steel industries forced numerous rationalizations, the last mine was closed in 1995. Today, Hokkaidō Tankō Kisen is mainly active in importing coal from Russia .
Route overview
The route network of the Hokkaidō Tankō Tetsudō consisted of the following parts of later lines:
- Hakodate main line from Minami-Otaru via Sapporo and Iwamizawa to the Sorachi Bridge at Takikawa
- Muroran main line from Iwamizawa via Oiwake and Tomakomai to Muroran
- Sekishō Line from Oiwake to Yūbari
- Temiya Line from Minami-Otaru to Temiya (closed in 1985)
- Horonai line from Iwamizawa to Horonai / Ikushumbetsu (closed in 1987)
- Utashinai Line from Sunagawa to Utashinai (closed in 1988)
Web links
- Hokkaidō Tankō Kisen (Japanese)
Individual evidence
- ↑ 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. 192-193 .
- ↑ Tanaka: 写真 で 見 る 北海道 の 鉄 道. P. 311.
- ↑ a b Tanaka: 写真 で 見 る 北海道 の 鉄 道. Pp. 60-61.
- ↑ Tanaka: 写真 で 見 る 北海道 の 鉄 道. Pp. 82-83.
- ↑ 当 社 の あ ゆ み. Hokkaidō Tankō Kisen, 2013, accessed February 2, 2017 (Japanese).