Kaikyō line

Kaikyō line
Three-rail tracks on the Kaikyō Line
Route length:	87.8 km
Gauge :	1435 mm / 1067 mm
Power system :	25 kV 50 Hz  ~
Top speed:	140 km / h
Dual track :	whole route
Society:	JR Hokkaidō JR Freight
Legend ↑ Tsugaru line of Aomori 1958– 0.0 Naka-Oguni ( 中小 国 ) 1958– 2.3 Shin-Nakaoguni signal station 1988– → Hokkaidō Shinkansen 2016– Ōhira tunnel (1510 m) Tsugaru tunnel (5880 m) 13.0 Okutsugaru-Imabetsu ( 津 軽 今 別 ) 1988– Tsugaru-Futamata ( 津 軽 二 股 ) 1958– ← Tsugaru Line 1958– Ōkawadai Tunnel (1337 m) 1. Imabetsu tunnel (160 m) 2. Imabetsu tunnel (690 m) 1. Hamana tunnel (440 m) 2. Hamana tunnel (280 m) 3. Hamana tunnel (170 m) 4. Hamana tunnel (140 m) 32.5 Tappi-Kaitei ( 竜 飛 海底 ) 1988-2013 → Seikan Tunnel Tappi Shakō Line Seikan tunnel (53,850 m) Tsugaru Street 55.5 Yoshioka-Kaitei ( 吉岡 海底 ) 1988-2013 1. Yunosato Tunnel (1167 m) 76.0 Shiriuchi ( 知 内 信号 ) 1988-2014 Shiriuchi-gawa 2. Yunosato Tunnel (1638 m) Omonai-gawa 1. Omouchi tunnel (813 m) 2. Omouchi tunnel (1128 m) Mirokoshi-gawa 1. Mirokoshi tunnel (1634 m) 2. Mirokoshi tunnel (166 m) 3. Mirokoshi tunnel (322 m) 4. Mirokoshi tunnel (405 m) Tateari-gawa → Esashi line 1935-2014 Kikonai-gawa 87.8 Kikonai ( 木 古 内 ) 1930– → Hokkaidō Shinkansen 2016– ↓ Esashi Line to Hakodate 1930–

The Kaikyō Line ( Japanese 海峡 線 , Kaikyō-sen ) is a railway line opened in 1988 in northern Japan , which is operated jointly by the railway companies JR Hokkaidō and JR Freight . It begins in Aomori prefecture in the north of the main island of Honshū and leads through the Seikan tunnel to the island of Hokkaidō . The majority of the route has been used by both Shinkansen high-speed trains and freight trains since 2016 , which is why it is equipped with three- rail tracks .

description

The southern starting point of the 87.8 km long Kaikyō Line is Naka-Oguni. For the first 2.3 km it is identical to the Tsugaru line coming from Aomori . Both lines separate at the Shin-Nakaoguni signal station. The Kaikyō Line turns north here and joins the Hokkaidō-Shinkansen high-speed line immediately afterwards . They share the same route over the next 84 km . That is why three - rail tracks have been laid so that both Cape -gauge freight trains and standard-gauge high - speed trains can run. After the Okutsugaru-Imabetsu station , the Tsugaru line is crossed.

About half a kilometer southwest of Hamana in Imabetsu municipality , the route reaches the south portal of the Seikan tunnel . This is 53.850 km long and thus the second longest railway tunnel in the world after the Gotthard Base Tunnel ; it also has the world's second longest submarine section after the Eurotunnel . The Seikan tunnel has two emergency stations, which were also served according to schedule until 2013 and were staffed. Below Cape Tappi on the northern tip of the Tsugaru Peninsula is the Tappi-Kaitei station , which is connected to the surface by the Seikan Tunnel Tappi Shakō Line funicular . The Yoshioka-Kaitei station off the coast of Hokkaido is the lowest underground station in the world.

The north portal of the Seikan Tunnel is about six kilometers west of the town of Shiriuchi . There are several more tunnels to cross hills in the south of the Matsumae Peninsula . Shortly before the northern end point, the Kikonai station , the Kaikyō line and Hokkaidō Shinkansen separate. On the shared section, the line is electrified with 25 kV 50 Hz alternating voltage , otherwise with 20 kV 50 Hz. The continuous rail connection between the cities of Aomori on Honshū and Hakodate on Hokkaidō is also known as the Tsugaru-Kaikyō line ( 津 軽 海峡 線 , Tsugaru -Kaikyō-sen ). In addition to the Kaikyō line, it includes the Tsugaru line as well as parts of the Esashi line and the Hakodate main line .

Trains

After the opening, the express trains Kaikyō ( 海峡 ) and Hatsukari ( は つ か り ) ran between Aomori and Hakodate , the latter without intermediate stops. They were replaced in 2002 by the express trains Hakuchō ( 白鳥 ) and Super Hakuchō ( ス ー パ ー 白鳥 ), which connected Hachinohe with Hakodate (from 2010 Shin-Aomori with Hakodate). There were also the following night trains : from 1988 to 2006 the Nihonkai ( 日本海 ) between Osaka and Hakodate, from 1988 to 2015 the Hokutosei ( 北斗星 ) between Ueno and Sapporo , from 1989 to 2015 the Twilight Express between Osaka and Sapporo and from 1999 to 2016 the Cassiopeia ( カ シ オ ペ ア ) between Ueno and Sapporo. Since the commissioning of the Hokkaidō Shinkansen from Shin-Aomori via Kikonai to Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto in 2016, there has been no passenger traffic on the Kaikyō line, apart from a few special trains for tourist purposes. Instead, 13 pairs of Shinkansen trains currently run daily .

The Kaikyō Line is an important artery of rail freight traffic , which, in contrast to aviation and coastal shipping, is largely unaffected by bad weather conditions. Because of the different contact wire voltages , JR Freight uses multi-system locomotives of the type EH800 . Since the timetable change on March 1, 1994, almost all freight traffic has been handled with containers . For safety reasons, various dangerous goods cannot be transported through the Seikan tunnel.

The maximum speed of Shinkansen trains is limited to 140 km / h, that of freight trains to 110 km / h. Due to the shared use of the route, higher speeds are currently not possible, as the shock wave from the Shinkansen trains would be too dangerous for freight trains. JR Hokkaidō and JR Freight are therefore working on the train-on-train concept, with which Cape-gauge freight wagons are to be transported on covered standard-gauge trolleys.

history

For decades, most of the traffic on Tsugaru Strait was on the Seikan ferry . The seaports of Aomori and Hakodate are 113 km apart, a crossing took between three and five hours depending on the weather conditions. On Hokkaidō there was a rail connection from Hakodate to Matsumae (via the Esashi Line and the Matsumae Line ). In the north of Honshūs the Tsugaru line extended from Aomori to Minmaya . In between there was also ferry traffic, but this was only of local importance. The opening of the Seikan tunnel took place after 24 years of construction on March 13, 1988, together with the entire Kaikyō line.

From the beginning, JR Hokkaidō and JR Freight carried out the passenger and freight traffic. The line was initially only equipped with tracks in cape gauge (1067 mm) and electrified with 20 kV 50 Hz alternating voltage . Although the Kaikyō line met the Shinkansen specifications right from the start, contrary to the original plans, high-speed traffic was not even possible: the construction of the Tōhoku-Shinkansen high-speed line had been massively delayed due to the high debt of the Japanese state railway, which was privatized in 1987 . It was not until 2010 that it reached Aomori, the starting point for the Hokkaidō Shinkansen, which are partially identical to the Kaikyō line .

The Yoshioka-Kaitei tunnel station was no longer served as scheduled from March 18, 2006, the Tappi-Kaitei tunnel station from November 11, 2013. JR Hokkaidō officially closed both on March 15, 2014, together with the Shiriuchi station. This measure was necessary in order to be able to set up the line for future use by high-speed trains with standard gauge (1435 mm). In addition to the installation of three-rail tracks , this also included increasing the overhead line voltage from 20 to 25 kV on March 22, 2016. Four days later, on March 26, 2016, the Hokkaidō Shinkansen went into operation.

List of train stations

Surname	km	Connecting lines	location	place	prefecture
Naka-Oguni ( 長 万 部 )	00.0	Tsugaru line	Coord.	Sotogahama	Aomori
Okutsugaru-Imabetsu ( 津 軽 今 別 )	13.0	Hokkaidō Shinkansen	Coord.	Imabetsu
Tappi-Kaitei ( 竜 飛 海底 ) (until 2014)	32.5		Coord.	Sotogahama
Yoshioka-Kaitei ( 吉岡 海底 ) (until 2014)	55.5		Coord.	Fukushima	Hokkaidō
Shiriuchi ( 知 内 ) (until 2014)	76.0		Coord.	Shiriuchi
Kikonai ( 木 古 内 )	87.8	Hokkaidō Shinkansen Esashi Line	Coord.	Kikonai

Web links

Commons : Kaikyō Line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jan Knüsel: Japan's projects of the century. Asienspiegel, March 12, 2018, accessed December 16, 2018 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Oskar Stalder: The Seikan tunnel in Japan - structure and challenge. In: Ferrum: News from the iron library. Eisenbibliothek , 2008, pp. 65–68 , accessed on December 16, 2018 . 
3. ↑ 青 函 ト ン ネ ル ： 新 幹線 対 応 電 圧 ア ッ プ ２ 万 ５０００Ｖ に. Mainichi Shimbun , March 22, 2016, accessed December 16, 2018 . 
4. ↑ Katsuhiko Toyama: 鉄 道 記録 帳 2002 年 11 月 . In: Kaihō (Tetsudō fan) . tape 50 , no. 2 . Tetsudō Tomonokai, Tokyo February 2003.
5. ↑ 北海道 新 幹線 新 青森 ～ 新 函館 北斗 間 開業 に 伴 う 運行 計画 の 概要 に つ い て (overview of the timetable after the opening of the Hokkaidō Shinkansen between Sendai and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto). (PDF) JR East , September 16, 2015, accessed December 16, 2018 (Japanese). 
6. ↑ 危 険 品 託 送 方法 の ご 案 内 （コ ン テ ナ 列車）. (PDF, 1.9 MB) JR Freight , 2009, archived from the original on February 27, 2018 ; Retrieved December 16, 2018 (Japanese). 
7. ^ Yoshihiko Sato: Hokkaido Shinkansen prepares for launch. International Railway Journal, February 16, 2016, accessed December 16, 2018 . 
8. ↑ Keiko Nannichi: Research to look into feasibility of 200-kph cargo train. Asahi Shimbun , October 16, 2011, archived from the original on December 6, 2013 ; accessed on December 16, 2018 (English). 
9. ↑ White Elephant . In: Der Spiegel . No. 24 , 1985, pp. 151 ( online ).
10. ↑ 平 成 １８ 年 ３ 月 ダ イ ヤ 改正 に つ い て. (PDF, 93 kB) JR Hokkaidō , December 22, 2005, archived from the original on February 9, 2006 ; Retrieved December 16, 2018 (Japanese). 
11. ↑ 駅 の 営 業 終了 に つ い て. (PDF, 29 kB) JR Hokkaidō , September 13, 2013, accessed on December 16, 2018 (Japanese). 
12. ↑ 平 成 26 年 3 月 ダ イ ヤ 改正 に つ い て. (PDF, 300 kB) JR Hokkaidō , December 20, 2013, accessed on December 16, 2018 (Japanese). 

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap