Tenpoku line

Tenpoku line
Former route in Wakkanai, now used as a bike path
Route length:	148.9 km
Gauge :	1067 mm ( cape track )
Maximum slope :	25  ‰
Minimum radius :	300 m
Dual track :	No
Legend 0.0 Otoineppu ( 音 威 子 府 ) 1912– ↑ → Sōya main line 1912– Otoineppu-gawa (2 ×) 5.4 Kami-Otoineppu ( 上 音 威 子 府 ) 1914-1989 Tenpoku tunnel (376 m) 11.6 Tenpoku Zakae ( 天 北 栄 ) 1956-1965 15.6 Shō-Tombetsu ( 小 頓 別 ) 1914-1989 ← Utanobori municipal small train Tombetsu-gawa 20.6 Kami-Tombetsu ( 上 頓 別 ) 1956-1989 23.2 Megumino ( 恵 野 ) 1956-1989 Asase-gawa Tombetsu-gawa (2 ×) 27.1 Pinneshiri ( 敏 音 知 ) 1916-1989 Tombetsu-gawa (3 ×) 31.2 Shūmaro ( 周 磨 ) 1956-1989 34.5 Matsuneshiri ( 常 盤 ) 1916-1989 37.4 Kamikoma ( 上 駒 ) 1955-1989 Tombetsu-gawa Peichian-gawa 42.5 Naka-Tombetsu ( 中 頓 別 ) 1916-1989 46.6 Kotobuki ( 寿 ) 1955-1989 Tombetsu-gawa 48.0 Shin-Yayoi ( 新 弥 生 ) 1959-1989 Tombetsu-gawa 51.6 Shimo-Tombetsu ( 下 頓 別 ) 1918-1989 54.8 Tokiwa ( 常 盤 ) 1954-1989 Tombetsu-gawa ← Kōhin North Line 1936-1985 61.5 Hama-Tombetsu ( 浜 頓 別 ) 1918-1989 Kita-Tombetsu ( 北 頓 別 ) -1967 Kussharo-gawa 67.7 Yamagaru ( 山 軽 ) 1919-1989 70.4 Yasubetsu ( 安 別 ) 1956-1989 72.8 Hikōjō-mae ( 飛行 場 前 ) 1955-1989 76.7 Asajino ( 浅 茅 野 ) 1919-1989 Sarufutsu-gawa 82.9 Sarufutsu ( 猿 払 ) 1920-1989 Karibetsu-gawa 87.4 Ashino ( 芦 野 ) 1920-1989 Saruname-gawa 93.7 Onishibetsu ( 鬼 志 別 ) 1920-1989 Onishibetsu-gawa 99.0 Koishi ( 小石 ) 1922-1989 Fujita coal mine 1947-1967 116.7 Magarifuchi ( 曲 淵 ) 1922-1989 → Horonuma line 1933-1964 121.0 Numakawa ( 沼 川 ) 1922-1989 127.2 Kabaoka ( 樺 岡 ) 1922-1989 136.3 Keihoku ( 恵 北 ) 1922-1989 Higashi-Koetoi ( 東 声 問 ) 1987 141.8 Koetoi ( 声 問 ) 1922-1989 Koetoi-gawa 146.8 Uennai ( 宇 遠 内 ) 1955-1989 → Sōya main line 1924– 148.9 Minami-Wakkanai ( 南 稚 内 ) 1922– ← Urban port railway Wakkanai ( 稚 内 ) Wakkanai-sanbashi ( 稚 内 桟 橋 ) Ferry to Ōdomari ( Korsakow )

The Tenpoku Line or Tempoku Line ( Japanese 天 北 線 , Tenpoku-sen / Tempoku-sen ) was a railway line in the north of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō . It was opened between 1914 and 1922 and was in operation until 1989. The name is made up of the first Kanji characters of the former provinces Teshio ( 天塩 ) and Kitami ( 北見 ).

description

The 148.9 km long Tenpoku Line connected the cities of Otoineppu and Wakkanai in the far north of Hokkaidō . It was Cape gauge , single-track and not electrified. This was an alternative route to the Sōya main line further west, which is still in operation today . A total of 33 train stations and demand stops were developed.

At Otoineppu station , the Tenpoku line turned off the Sōya main line and first ran north through the Otoineppu valley. After the Tenpoku Tunnel, she reached the Tombetsu Valley, which she followed to Hama-Tombetsu on the Sea of ​​Okhotsk . Then the route turned to the northwest. It did not run directly along the coast, but about one to two kilometers inland, past Lake Kutcharo and Lake Poro. From Onishibetsu it led west through the Onishibetsu valley and north through the Koetoi valley until it finally reached the Soya bay belonging to the La Pérouse road . In Minami-Wakkanai station she met again on the Sōya main line.

Hardly anything has been preserved from the previous route , as it was left to decay. In some places it was replaced by dirt roads and back roads, between Koetoi and Minami-Wakkanai by a bike path .

history

The Sōya line ( 宗 谷 線 ) beginning in Asahikawa reached in 1912 to Otoineppu station . It was originally planned to continue it via Horonobe to the northern tip of Hokkaidō. For political reasons, however, the Railway Authority (which later became the Ministry of Railways ) decided to build an alternative route that ran further east and was 20 km longer along the Sea of ​​Okhotsk . The first section between Otoineppu and Shō-Tombetsu was opened on November 7, 1914. Naka-Tombetsu was reached on October 1, 1916, Hama-Tombetsu on August 25, 1918, Asajino on November 1, 1919, and Onishibetsu on November 1, 1920.

With the opening of the section between Onishibetsu and Wakkanai (today's Minami-Wakkanai station ) on November 1, 1922, the northernmost city of Hokkaidō was now also connected to the railway network. Four days later, the line was renamed the Sōya Main Line. In the meantime, construction work on the originally planned route had begun and almost four years later Wakkanai could also be reached on the Teshio Line via Horonobe. In 1928, a short extension used by both lines within the city of Wakkanai to the port station (now Wakkanai station ) was put into operation. On April 1, 1930 there was another renaming: While the subsequently built Teshio Line (Otoineppu-Horonobe-Wakkanai) became part of the Sōya main line, the first line Otoineppu-Hama-Tombetsu-Wakkanai lost this name and was called now Kitami line ( 北 見 線 , Kitami-sen ).

The Kitami Line was named after the historic Kitami Province , which covered the entire coastline along the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. But it only opened up its northernmost part. From 1942 onwards, this naming led to frequent confusion after the town of Kitami , which is more than 200 kilometers away from the Kitami line, emerged from the Nokkeushi community in the far east . For this reason, the Japanese State Railways (JNR) introduced the new name Tenpoku Line on April 1, 1961. From November 1 of the same year, a Sapporo – Wakkanai pair of express trains ran daily on the Tenpoku line.

Based on the law for the restructuring of the state railway finances passed in 1980, the JNR classified the Tenpoku line as one of those routes that should be shut down in the medium term and switched to bus operation due to the particularly low cost recovery rate . Since the Tenpoku line was the longest of all the affected routes and trouble-free bus operation in winter could not be guaranteed, the Ministry of Transport initially postponed this measure, but finally approved it in August 1985. Previously, the JNR had stopped all freight traffic on February 1, 1984 for cost reasons. As part of the privatization of the state railway, the Tenpoku line passed into the possession of JR Hokkaido on April 1, 1987 . This was shut down a little more than two years later on May 1, 1989.

List of train stations

Former Matsuneshiri Railway Station (August 2011)

Surname	km	Connecting lines	location	place
Otoineppu ( 音 威 子 府 )	000.0	Sōya main line	Coord.	Otoineppu
Kami-Otoineppu ( 上 音 威 子 府 )	005.4		Coord.
Tenpoku Zakae ( 天 北 栄 )	011.6		Coord.	Nakatombetsu
Shō-Tombetsu ( 小 頓 別 )	015.6		Coord.
Kami-Tombetsu ( 上 頓 別 )	020.6		Coord.
Megumino ( 恵 野 )	023.2		Coord.
Pinneshiri ( 敏 音 知 )	027.1		Coord.
Shūmaro ( 周 磨 )	031.2		Coord.
Matsuneshiri ( 松 音 知 )	034.5		Coord.
Kamikoma ( 上 駒 )	037.4		Coord.
Naka-Tombetsu ( 中 頓 別 )	042.5		Coord.
Kotobuki ( 寿 )	046.6		Coord.
Shin-Yayoi ( 新 弥 生 )	048.0		Coord.
Shimo-Tombetsu ( 下 頓 別 )	051.6		Coord.	Hamatombetsu
Tokiwa ( 常 盤 )	054.8		Coord.
Hama-Tombetsu ( 浜 頓 別 )	061.5		Coord.
Kita-Tombetsu ( 北 頓 別 )			Coord.
Yamagaru ( 山 軽 )	067.7		Coord.
Yasubetsu ( 安 別 )	070.4		Coord.	Sarufutsu
Hikōjō-mae ( 飛行 場 前 )	072.8		Coord.
Asajino ( 浅 茅 野 )	076.7		Coord.
Sarufutsu ( 猿 払 )	082.9		Coord.
Ashino ( 芦 野 )	087.4		Coord.
Onishibetsu ( 鬼 志 別 )	093.7		Coord.
Koishi ( 小石 )	099.0		Coord.
Magarifuchi ( 曲 淵 )	116.7		Coord.	Wakkanai
Numakawa ( 沼 川 )	121.0		Coord.
Kabaoka ( 樺 岡 )	127.2		Coord.
Keihoku ( 恵 北 )	136.3		Coord.
Higashi-Koetoi ( 東 声 問 )			Coord.
Koetoi ( 声 問 )	141.8		Coord.
Uennai ( 宇 遠 内 )	146.8		Coord.
Minami-Wakkanai ( 南 稚 内 )	148.9	Sōya main line	Coord.

Web links

Commons : Tenpoku Line  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Tenpoku Line Information with Photo Galleries (Japanese)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} 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. 266-267 .
2. ↑ Tanaka: 写真 で 見 る 北海道 の 鉄 道. Pp. 90-91.

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap