, also known as the , is a rubber-tired transit system operated by Hiroshima Rapid Transit in

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

, Japan. Astram opened on August 20, 1994, for the

1994 Asian Games The 1994 Asian Games ( ja, 1994年アジア競技大会, ''Senkyūhyakukyūjūyon-nen Ajia kyōgi taikai''), also known as the XII Asiad and the 12th Asian Games ( ja, 第12回アジア競技大会, Daijūni-kai Ajia kyōgi taikai), were held from ...

in Hiroshima. The line connects central Hiroshima and

Hiroshima Big Arch The , known under current sponsorship as , is a multi-purpose stadium in Hiroshima, Japan. It used mostly for association football matches and also for athletics. The venue is the home of J. League club Sanfrecce Hiroshima. It has a capacity of ...

, which was the main stadium of the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

. On March 14, 2015, a new station, Shin-Hakushima, opened to make a new connection between the Astram Line and JR lines.

Stations

Rolling stock

* 6000 series 6-car EMUs (23 sets) * 1000 series 6-car EMU (1 set) * 7000 series 6-car EMUs (11 sets on order) , services on the line are operated using a fleet of 23 six-car 6000 series trainsets (sets 01 to 23) and one six-car 1000 series (set 24). The entire fleet of 24 sets is scheduled to be replaced with a new fleet of six-car trains delivered in two batches. The first of 11 new 7000 series sets was delivered in 2019. They are scheduled to enter service in March 2020.

6000 series

Hiroshima Rapid Transit Astram Line 6119

The 6000 series trainsets (01 to 23) are formed as follows, with all cars motored. Priority seating is provided in each car, and wheelchair spaces are provided in the end cars.

1000 series

The 1000 series trainset (24) is formed as follows, with four of the six cars motored. Priority seating is provided in each car, and wheelchair spaces are provided in the end cars.

History

Plans to build a new transit system linking the city centre of Hiroshima with the suburban area to the northwest were first proposed in July 1977. The third-sector Hiroshima Rapid Transit was founded in 1987, funded primarily by the city of Hiroshima. Groundbreaking for the rapid transit line project began on February 28, 1989, and construction would continue over a five-year period. However, on March 14, 1991, 15 people were killed when a girder collapsed on a section of the line's elevated viaduct near the station's construction site. The line opened for revenue service on August 20, 1994. When the line originally opened in 1994, it had 21 stations, of which provided the line's only transfer with a JR West line (the Kabe Line). On March 14, 2015, opened as an

infill station An infill station (sometimes in-fill station) is a train station built on an existing passenger rail, rapid transit, or light rail line to address demand in a location between existing stations. Such stations take advantage of existing train serv ...

between Hakushima and Jōhoku in order to provide a transfer point with the Sanyo Main Line.

References

External links

*
Map of Hiroshima rail transit network
{{Rapid transit in Asia Hiroshima Rapid Transit Railway lines opened in 1994 750 V DC railway electrification 1994 establishments in Japan