Hiroshima Tram

Hiroshima Tram
Old cars in front of the atomic bomb memorial
Basic information
Country	Japan
city	Hiroshima
opening	1912
operator	Hiroshima Dentetsu KK
Infrastructure
Route length	19 km + 16.1 km (railway line)
Gauge	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system	600 V = overhead line
Operating mode	Bidirectional operation

"PICCOLO" in the depot

"Green Mover max"

Combino on the main line

Tram # 651 destroyed by the atomic bomb explosion, 1945

Restored trams # 651 and # 652 near the atomic bomb dome , 2006

Network development (continuous = existing, interrupted = shut down)

The Hiroshima Tram is the tram network in Hiroshima on the island of Honshū in Japan . It is operated by the private company Hiroshima Dentetsu ( Japanese 広 島 電 鉄 ), Hiroden for short ( 広 電 ). In terms of network length, it is the largest tram network currently in operation in Japan.

stretch

Surname	length	Lines	Routing	Stops	Duration from start to finish
Honsen ( 本 線 )	5.5	1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8	Hiroshima Train Station ( 広 島 駅 ) - Hiroden Nishi-Hiroshima ( 広 電 西 広 島 )	20th	32
Ujina-sen ( 宇 品 線 )	5.7	1, 3, 5, 7	Hiroshima Port ( 広 島 港 ) - Kamiyachō-Higashi / Kamiyachō-Nishi ( 紙 屋 町 東 ／ 紙 屋 町 西 )	19th	30th
Eba-sen ( 江波 線 )	2.6	6, 8	Eba ( 江波 ) - Dobashi ( 土橋 )	7th	13
Hakushima-sen ( 白 島 線 )	1.2	9	Hakushima ( 白 島 ) - Hatchōbori ( 八 丁 堀 )	4th	7th
Minami-sen ( 皆 実 線 )	2.5	5	Minamimachi 6-chōme ( 皆 実 町 六 丁目 ) - Matobachō ( 的 場 町 )	7th	11
Yokogawa-sen ( 横 川 線 )	1.4	7, 8	Yokogawa Station ( 横 川 駅 ) - Tōkaichimachi ( 十 日 市 町 )	5	6th

There are also the Miyajima-sen ( 宮 島 線 ) consisting of 21 stops from Hiroden Miyajima-guchi ( 広 電 宮 島 口 ) to Hiroden Nishi-Hiroshima ( 広 電 西 広 島 ) in the neighboring city of Hatsukaichi on a total length of 16.1 km. However, it is legally classified as a railway line that runs separately from road traffic and thus has a light rail character.

Lines

(As of July 11, 2011)

No.	stretch	Routing / important stops	Stops	Duration [min]
1	Honsen, Ujina	Hiroshima Train Station - Hatchobori - Kamiyacho-Higashi - Hiroshima Port	27	44
2	Honsen, Miyajima	Hiroshima Station - Hatchōbori - Kamiyachō - Tōkaichimachi - Hiroden Nishi-Hiroshima (Koi) - Hiroden Miyajima-guchi	20 (Honsen) + 20 (Miyajima)	32 (Honsen) + 31 (Miyajima)
3	Ujina, Honsen	Hiroshima Port - Kamiyachō-Nishi - Tōkaichimachi - Hiroden Nishi-Hiroshima (Koi)	29	48
5	Honsen, Minami, Ujina	Hiroshima Railway Station - Hijiyama-shita ( 比 治 山下 ) - Hiroshima Port	18th	28
6th	Honsen, Eba	Hiroshima Station - Hatchōbori - Kamiyachō - Tōkaichimachi - Eba	20th	35
7th	Ujina, Honsen, Yokogawa	Hiroden Honsha-mae ( 広 電 本社 前 ) - Kamiyachō-Nishi - Tōkaichimachi - Yokogawa	15th	25th
8th	Eba, Honsen, Yokogawa	Eba - Tōkaichimachi - Yokogawa	12	21st
9	Hakushima	Hatchobori - Hakushima	5	7th

history

The operation was opened in 1912 with the Honsen, Hakushima-sen and the Ujina-sen to Miyuki-bashi (御 幸 橋), the latter expanded to the port in 1915. The Yokogawa-sen followed in 1917 and the Minami- and Eba-sen only in 1943/44 (with simultaneous routing in the transition to the Honsen). The Miyajima-sen was built starting from the Nishi-Hiroshima station from 1922 to 1931; continuous operation with the tram was not started until 1958. The network was severely damaged by the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, but the first tram was running again after just three days and operations were completely rebuilt. In addition to realignments on the western Honsen and Hakushima-sen, the post-war period brought smaller expansions of the Eba-sen (1954) and Ujina-sen (1967). The Ujina-sen experienced a last small expansion in 2003.

vehicles

Apart from a few parade and special cars, 61 high-floor single cars and 37 three-part high-floor articulated multiple units (“Green Liner”) from various series are available for operation. Since 1999 Siemens has also supplied twelve five-part Combino (“Green Mover”) and a Japanese consortium ten five (“Green Mover max”) and eight three-part (“Green Mover Lex” / “Piccolo” / “Piccola”) low-floor articulated multiple units.

The variety of types and the age of some vehicles led to the company's reputation as a rolling tram museum (動 く 電車 の 博物館ugoku densha no hakubutsukan ); Meanwhile, however, a much more modern and more uniform picture emerges.

From 1981, two GT8 cars from Dortmund drove in Hiroshima, initially in regular service, later mainly for special trips. One car (Tw 77) was scrapped in 2006, the other (Tw 76) was set up as a cafe car next to the Hiroden headquarters in 2012. The car is now in the department store "The Outlets" in Hiroshima. The superstructure Tw 238 came from Hanover in 1988 and is occasionally used on lines 8 and 9 (mainly in winter due to the lack of air conditioning).

Web links

Commons : Hiroshima Tram  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Hiroden website (Japanese, English)
• Info at eurotram.com (French)

Remarks

1. ↑ If the railway line to Miyajimaguchi is not taken into account, it is only the second largest after the Kōchi tram .