Kurobe Sen'yō Tetsudō
| Kurobe Sen'yō Tetsudō | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 A train at Keyakidaira-Jōbu station
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 Side view of the route
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| Route length: | 6.4 km + 1.3 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 762 mm ( narrow gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Kurobe Sen'yō Tetsudō ( Japanese 黒 部 専 用 鉄 道 ), with the routes Jōbu Kidō ( 上部 軌道 ) and Kuronagi Shisen ( 黒 薙 支線 ), is a network of private narrow-gauge railways in the Kurobe Gorge in Toyama Prefecture , which is different to the nearby Kurotetsu is normally not used for public transport. It was built by the Kansai Electric Power Company in 1941 and 1963 to a 762 mm (2 foot 6 inch ) gauge for the construction and operation of the power plants at the Kurobe Dam . These are two railway lines networked via the Kurotetsu, which are described in more detail below.
Jōbu Kidō
The 6.4 km long Jōbu Kidō runs 201 meters above the Kurotetsu from Keyakidaira-Jōbu to the Kurobegawa power station No. 4. It is part of the Kurobe Sen'yō Tetsudō network. Jōbu Kidō runs the entire route in a tunnel and is in operation all year round, unlike the Kurotetsu, which cannot be operated in winter due to the snow. It is operated by Kurotetsu, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Kansai Electric Power Company .
The journey begins at Keyakidaira ( 欅 平 駅 ) station of the Kurotetsu. From there, several times a day, small passenger or freight wagons are pulled with a battery locomotive to the Keyakidaira-Kabu station, 500 m away, at 599 m TP . There the cars are pushed into a large elevator that was built in 1939 by the Otis Elevator Company . With a lifting capacity of 4.5 t, it is the elevator with the largest lifting capacity in Japan. With it, the 201 meters in altitude up to the Keyakidaira-Jōbu ( 欅 平 上部 ) station located vertically above at 800 m TP are covered.
The actual Jōbu Kidō leads from the Keyakidaira-Jōbu station through the so-called high - temperature tunnel Kōnetsu Zuidō ( 高熱 隧道 ) to the Kurobegawa power plant No. 4 ( 黒 部 川 第四 発 電 所 前 ) at 869 m TP Its construction was difficult because the temperature of the Rock was 160 ° C due to volcanic geothermal energy . In the meantime it has cooled down to 40 ° C. Because of the high temperatures at the time, battery locomotives are used to prevent explosions of liquid fuels.
At Kurobegawa power station no. 4, an inclined elevator starts to the upper incline elevator station 456 meters above sea level ( English : Incline Jōbu station) at 1325 m TP
From there, you can continue your journey by bus through the Kurobe Tunnel. It ends with 10.3 km at the stop of the Kanden Tunnel Trolleybus at the Kurobe Dam on 1470 m TP This O bus you can go on to the 6.1 km distant trolley bus stop in Ogisawa.
The section between Keyakidaira and Sennindani was built in 1941 for the construction of Kurobegawa power plant No. 3. The section between Sennindani and Kurobegawa Power Plant No. 4 was built in 1963 for the construction of this power plant.
Elevator from Keyakidaira-Kabu to Keyakidaira-Jōbu, 201 m above
The high-temperature tunnel Jōbu Kidō between Asohara and Sennindani
A railroad car in the cabin of the inclined elevator
Bus in the Kurobe tunnel from the upper incline elevator station (Incline Jōbu station) to the Kurobe dam
Kuronagi Shisen
Kuronagi Shisen runs from Kuronagi Station ( 黒 薙 駅 ) on the Kurotetsu over 1.3 km to Kuronagi Power Plant No. 2 ( 黒 薙 第二 発 電 所 ). The route is rarely used by rail vehicles. For this reason, tourists are occasionally allowed to walk on the tracks through the tunnel to the nearby Kuronagi-Onsen ( 黒 Halt Halt ) stop, with the permission of the station master of Kuronagi station . Unlike the Jōbu Kidō, this route runs partially above ground.
Sightseeing
Jōbu Kidō and Kuronagi Shisen do not offer public transportation. However, since 1996 a limited number of tunnel tours have been offered on the Jōbu Kidō, which must be booked in advance. Usually there are two to eight times more applicants than places, so that the lot decides on participation. In 2007 there were 34 tours throughout the year with a total of 2014 participants. The nearby Kurotetsu has scheduled tourist trips in summer.
Web links
- Kansai Electric Power Company Official Tunnel Tour Explanation Website (Japanese)