Matsumae line

Matsumae line
Route length:	50.8 km
Gauge :	1067 mm ( cape track )
Maximum slope :	25  ‰
Minimum radius :	300 m
Dual track :	No
Legend ↑ Esashi Lineage 1930– 0.0 Kikonai ( 木 古 内 ) 1930– Kikonai-gawa ← Esashi line 1935-2014 5.2 Morikoshi ( 森 越 ) 1937-1988 8.2 Oshima-Shiriuchi ( 渡 島 知 内 ) 1937-1988 11.3 Omonai ( 重 内 ) 1962-1988 Shiriuchi ( 知 内 ) 17.0 Yunosato ( 湯 ノ 里 ) 1938-1988 24.2 Scorch ( 千 軒 ) 1938-1988 Fukushima tunnel (1110 m) Seikan tunnel 33.2 Oshima-Fukushima ( 渡 島 福島 ) 1942-1988 35.9 Shirafu ( 白 符 ) 1957-1988 → Kaikyō line 1988– 38.7 Oshima-Yoshioka ( 渡 島 吉岡 ) 1942-1988 Shirakami Tunnel (2980 m) 45.2 Oshima-Ōsawa ( 渡 島 大 沢 ) 1946-1988 48.0 Oyobe ( 及 部 ) 1957-1988 50.8 Matsumae ( 松 前 ) 1953-1988

The Matsumae Line ( Japanese 松 前線 , Matsumae-sen ) was a railway line in the south of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō . It was opened in five stages between 1937 and 1953 and was in operation until 1988.

description

The Matsumae Line was a 50.8 km branch line that branched off from the Esashi Line in Kikonai . It was cape gauge and not electrified. The Matsumae Line ran in a south-westerly direction to the southern tip of the Oshima Peninsula , making it the southernmost railway line on Hokkaidō. The northernmost section followed the coast of the Tsugaru Strait . The route then led inland through the Chinai Valley, crossed under the Fukushima Pass in a tunnel and came back to the coast in Fukushima . In the vicinity of Cape Shirakami, the southernmost point of the island, the route ran through another longer tunnel and finally reached Matsumae . The route of the Matsumae Line ran largely parallel to that of the Kaikyō Line , the access route to the Seikan Tunnel , but they were not in operation at the same time.

history

The possible construction of this railway line was already included in the appendix to the revised Railway Construction Act of 1911. The following year the Railway Authority (later the Ministry of Railways ) carried out surveys. But only two decades later, after the discovery of minable manganese ore deposits in the south of the Oshima Peninsula , concrete steps were actually taken. On October 12, 1937, the Ministry of Railways opened the first section of what was then known as the Fukuyama Line ( 福山 線 , Fukuyama-sen ), between Kikonai and Oshima-Shiriuchi. A little over a year later, on October 21, 1938, the second stage followed between Oshima-Shiriuchi and Sengen.

The third stage between Sengen and Oshima-Yoshioka went into operation on November 1, 1942, the fourth to Oshima-Ōsawa on December 15, 1946. This at least reached the city limits of Matsumae. From 1949 the Japanese State Railroad was responsible, which opened the missing section between Oshima-Ōsawa and Matsumae station on November 8, 1953 . On the same day, the Fukuyama line was renamed the Matsumae line. From 1963 to 1980 express trains ran from Hakodate via Kikonai to Matsumae.

With the ongoing expansion of National Road 228, the volume of passengers and goods fell continuously, so that in 1982 freight traffic was stopped. In the same year the state railway announced that it would also give up passenger traffic on the Matsumae line in the near future. Protest raged in the area and petitions were filed to prevent the closure. The reasons were the feared decline in tourism in Matsumae, difficult conditions during the construction of the Seikan tunnel in the municipality of Fukushima and criticism of the calculation basis.

As part of the privatization of the state railway, the Matsumae line went into the possession of the new company JR Hokkaido on April 1, 1987 . This finally closed the line on February 1, 1988. The railway was replaced by a bus line operated by Hakodate Bus .

List of train stations

Surname	km	Connecting lines	location	place
Kikonai ( 木 古 内 )	00.0	Esashi Line Kaikyō Line	Coord.	Kikonai
Morikoshi ( 森 越 )	05.2		Coord.	Shiriuchi
Oshima-Shiriuchi ( 渡 島 知 内 )	08.2		Coord.
Omonai ( 重 内 )	11.3		Coord.
Yunosato ( 湯 ノ 里 )	17.0		Coord.
Scorch ( 千 軒 )	24.2		Coord.	Fukushima
Oshima-Fukushima ( 渡 島 福島 )	33.2		Coord.
Shirafu ( 白 符 )	35.9		Coord.
Oshima-Yoshioka ( 渡 島 吉岡 )	38.7		Coord.
Oshima-Ōsawa ( 渡 島 大 沢 )	45.2		Coord.	Matsumae
Oyobe ( 及 部 )	48.0		Coord.
Matsumae ( 松 前 )	50.8		Coord.

Web links

• Matsumae Line Information with Photo Galleries (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. 316-317 .
2. ↑ Tanaka: 写真 で 見 る 北海道 の 鉄 道. Pp. 170-171.
3. ↑ 昭和 57 年 11 月 29, 30 日 に 関係 各 機関 に 出 さ れ た 陳情書. denki777, 1998, archived from the original on May 23, 2013 ; Retrieved June 16, 2017 (Japanese). 

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap