The Central China Railway (Japanese: 華中鉄道株式会社, ''Kachū Tetsudō Kabushiki Kaisha''; Chinese: 華中鐵道股份有限公司, ''Huázhōng Tiědào Gǔfèn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī'') was a
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
company in Japanese-occupied
China established after the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
. It was a joint venture between
Japan, the
Reformed Government of the Republic of China
The Reformed Government of the Republic of China was a Chinese puppet state created by Japan that existed from 1938 to 1940 during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The regime had little authority or popular support, nor did it receive international ...
and the
Nanjing National Government. Together with the
North China Transportation Company, it was responsible for management of China's railways during the Japanese occupation. In reality, it was a Japanese
National Policy Company.
It ceased to exist after the Japanese defeat in the
Pacific War and was absorbed by the Republic of China Railway, eventually becoming part of
China Railway in 1949 after the establishment of the
People's Republic
People's republic is an official title, usually used by some currently or formerly communist or left-wing states. It is mainly associated with soviet republics, socialist states following people's democracy, sovereign states with a democratic- ...
.
Overview
While the North China Transportation Company was influenced heavily by its parent company, the
South Manchuria Railway
The South Manchuria Railway ( ja, 南満州鉄道, translit=Minamimanshū Tetsudō; ), officially , Mantetsu ( ja, 満鉄, translit=Mantetsu) or Mantie () for short, was a large of the Empire of Japan whose primary function was the operatio ...
(''Mantetsu''), the Central China Railway was strongly influenced by the
Japanese Government Railways
The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national railway system directly operated by the Japanese Ministry of Railways ( ja, 鉄道省, Tetsudō-shō, ) until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan Ra ...
, as a result of a large number of JGR engineers and officials being sent to work at the Central China Railway's
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
offices and to assemble steam locomotives.
Routes
*
Haihang Branch Line (海杭支線) -
Xinlonghua–South Shanghai
*
Huainan Line (淮南線) -
Yuxikou–
Tianjiaan
*
Huhang Line (滬杭線) - Shanghai–
Hangzhou
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whic ...
*
Jinghu Line (京滬線) -
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
−Shanghai
*
Jinpu Trunk Line (津浦幹線) -
Xuzhou
Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...
–
Pukou
Pukou District (), is one of 11 districts of Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, China, lying northwest across the Yangtze River from downtown Nanjing.
The district was formerly the southern terminus of the Tianjin-Pukou Railway; railcars ...
(passenger service Xuzhou–
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...
via North China Transport
[東亜交通公社 (Toa Transport Corp.) timetable, 25 January 1944])
*
Nanning Line (滬杭線) - Nanjing–
Wanzhi
*
Sujia Line (蘇嘉線) -
Suzhou–
Jiaxing
Jiaxing (), alternately romanized as Kashing, is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province, China. Lying on the Grand Canal of China, Jiaxing borders Hangzhou to the southwest, Huzhou to the west, Shanghai to the northeast, and the p ...
*
Wusong Line (呉淞線) - Shanghai–
Paotaiwan
*
Wusong Branch Line (呉淞支線) - Shanghai–
Xinxing
*
Wuyi Line (武義線) - Jinhua–
Wuyi
*
Zhegan Line (浙赣線) - Hangzhou–
Jinhua
Services
In addition to the usual first, second and third-class passenger equipment seen elsewhere, the Central China Railway had fourth class carriages as well. These were newly built with the structure of a covered goods wagon adapted for passenger use, intended for use by poor Chinese farmers and seasonal workers. Conditions in these cars were remarkably poor, with passengers on two levels, but because the fare was very inexpensive, they were sufficient to the needs. Chinese were permitted to travel in first class if they paid the full fare, but Japanese were not permitted to travel in fourth class.
After the damage from the Sino-Japanese war was repaired, high-end direct services were put into operation in conjunction with North China Transport, such as the "Temma" and "Hiryū"
limited express trains between Shanghai and Nanjing. In November 1942, this distance was covered in 5 hours 20 minutes, with an average train speed of .
Rolling stock
![Central china ry kd10012 (1941)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Central_china_ry_kd10012_%281941%29.png)
When the Central China Railway was established, it suffered from a severe motive power shortage, as when the Chinese National Government forces withdrew, they destroyed a great number of locomotives, leaving only limited numbers of types inherited from nationalised railways, such as the
Huainan Railway 300 class. To alleviate this shortage, JGR locomotives were
converted from
Japanese narrow gauge (1,067 mm/3 ft 6 in) to
standard gauge and shipped to China. Among these were
JGR Class 9600 2-8-0 steam locomotives, and as these proved to be very easy to regauge, 251 were sent to China for use on both the Central China Railway (as Soriro class, ソリロ) and North China Transport's rail lines; after the
Pacific War, these became
China Railway class KD5.
[中国蒸汽機車世紀集影 (Centennial Collection of Chinese Steam Locomotives), China Railway Publishing House, July 2001, (in Chinese)]
In 1939, sixteen
JGR Class C51 locomotives, C51 8, 28, 30, 33 - 35, 88, 95, 96, 116, 130 - 132, 173, 175, and 178, all equipped with a Sumiyama feedwater heater, were converted to standard gauge and sent to the Central China Railway, where they operated primarily between Nanjing and Shanghai; these were later redesignated パシナ (''Pashina'') class. After the Liberation of China and the establishment of the
People's Republic
People's republic is an official title, usually used by some currently or formerly communist or left-wing states. It is mainly associated with soviet republics, socialist states following people's democracy, sovereign states with a democratic- ...
, these became China Railway class ㄆㄒ9 (PX9) in 1951, and reclassified as class SL9 in 1959.
At the same time,
JGR D50 193 was also converted to standard gauge and shipped to the Central China Railway. After the establishment of the PRC, it was classified ㄇㄎ16 (MK16), but was off the roster by 1955.
Subsequently, the Central China Railway received newly built locomotives, such as the eight
KC100 class 4-6-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomo ...
s (KC1001–KC1008), 19
KD100 class 2-8-2s (KD1001−KD1019), the 10
Pashishi class identical to the
Chosen Government Railway
Chosen or The Chosen may refer to:
The chosen ones
*Chosen people, people who believe they have been chosen by a higher power to do a certain thing including
** Jews as the chosen people
Books
* ''The Chosen'' (Potok novel), a 1967 novel by Chaim ...
(''Sentetsu'') Pashishi class (パシシ11–パシシ19, and パシシ110), and the 38
Mikasa class identical to the Sentetsu Mikasa class (ミカサ11–ミカサ19, ミカサ110–ミカサ137, ミカサ310).
Like the locomotive fleet, the Central China Railway's inventory of passenger carriages and goods wagons was left in shambles after the withdrawal of the Chinese army. As an emergency measure, 126 JGR carriages were converted to standard gauge and shipped to China. These were of the Oshi27730 (3 cars), Naro20700 (8), Naha22000 (35), Nahafu24000 (37), Oni26600 (5), Suro33 (9), Suha32 (22), and Suhafu32 (7) classes. From 1940, new passenger carriages and goods wagons were built for the Central China Railway to Mantetsu designs. Many of these remained in service with the China Railway after the end of the Pacific War.
Ten Kiha40000 and ten Kiha42000 class
railcar
A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a dri ...
s were delivered for suburban services.
References
{{Authority control
Defunct companies of Japan
Standard gauge railways in China
Defunct railway companies of China