The was a rural rail line in

Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the nort ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, abandoned on March 31, 2007. Running from Ishikoshi Station in

Tome, Miyagi 270px, Tome City Hall is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 77,897 and a population density of 150 persons per km² in 27,298 households. The total area of the city is . The area is noted for it ...

with a connection to the

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line ( ja, 東北本線, ) is a long railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Utsunomiya, Fukush ...

, extending westward to inland Hosokura Mine Park Mae Station in

Kurihara Kurihara City Hall is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 66,565, and a population density of 83 persons per km2 in 24,994 households. The total area of the city is . Parts of the city are with ...

, along central Kurihara. This line used to be called for short because the preceding name of the operator was the . The line was initially constructed to transport ore from Uguisuzawa's which was closed in 1988.

Description

As of 2007 *Distance: *

Rail gauge In rail transport, track gauge (in American English, alternatively track gage) is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. Since many d ...

: *Stations: 16 *Track: Single *Power: Internal combustion (Diesel) *Block System: **Staff Block (Ishikoshi - Wakayanagi, Kurikoma - Hosokura Mine Park Mae) **Tablet Block (Wakayanagi - Kurikoma)

Infrastructure

The operator introduced

diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

s (DMU) during the reorganization in 1995, but the old 750 V DC electric installation remained for economic reasons. It was one of few railways then in Japan that operated with an obsolete semaphore signal system and non-automatic blocking system.

Operation and service

All trains consisted of a single car without a conductor. The fare was twice as high as comparable distances on

Japan Railways The Japan Railways Group, more commonly known as the or simply JR, consists of seven for-profit stock companies that took over most of the assets and operations of the government-owned Japanese National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987. Mo ...

lines. Only three of the sixteen stations, namely Wakayanagi, Sawabe, Kurikoma were regularly staffed.

History

Originally the line was gauged, constructed by and opened in 1921, later renamed to in 1941 and again to Kurihara Dentetsu in 1955. The closure of Hosokura Mine in 1988 reduced freight traffic. The company had hoped for tourists to the Hosokura Mine Park, an

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

built at the mine site. But this effort failed to stop the decrease of passengers. Municipalities decided to retain the operator as a third sector (in Japanese sense) in 1993, renamed on April 1, 1995 to Kurihara Den'en Railway. The company has curtailed investment and maintenance measures and made some efforts to increase passengers. But the rapid shift to car traffic has overwhelmed railways everywhere in Japan since the 1990s. Miyagi Prefecture had subsidized the deficit for several years, but in 2001 gave notice to the municipalities of a future suspension of the subsidy. In December 2003 they decided to close the railway in March 2007.

Timeline

*December 15, 1918: established *December 20, 1921: Ishikoshi - Sawabe () *December 17, 1922: Sawabe - Iwasasaki (later Kurikoma) () *December 3, 1941: Classification from tramway to railway, renamed to *December 1, 1942: Iwasasaki - Hosokura Mine (ca. ), stretch completed *September 21, 1952: Electrified DC 750 V *September 26, 1955: Regauged from to for through operation to the then

Japanese National Railways The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pref ...

*November 29, 1955: Renamed to *June 1, 1964: Bus and train services in the area combined to a single company, *August 31, 1968: Bus service separated to *February 25, 1969: Renamed back again to Kurihara Electric Railway *March 29, 1987: Hosokuura - Hosokuura Mine freight service closed *November 1, 1988: Hosokura - Hosokura Mine () abandoned (in some source on October 27) *June 16, 1990: Hosokura - Hosokura Mine Park Mae () opened. Hosokura Station abandoned *December 15, 1993: Mitsubishi Material transferred ownership of the Kurihara Electric Railway to the then five towns (in 2007, 2 cities) along the line *May 1, 1995: Renamed to Kurihara Den'en Railway. Electric operation terminated. Conductorless operation introduced *April 1, 2007: Railway service terminated

Stations

As of 2007. All stations were in

. ; Ishikoshi () :In Tome ; Aramachi () ; Wakayanagi () ; Yachihata () ; Ōokashōmae () ; Ōoka () ; Sawabe () ; Tsukumo () ; Sugihashi () ; Toyasaki () ; Kurikoma () ; Kurihara Tamachi () ; Omatsu () ; Uguisuzawa () ; Uguisuzawa Kōgyōkōkō Mae () ; Hosokura Mine Park Mae () :In

Rolling stock

*For service *;KD 95 type *:Railcar (DMU) built in 1995. Nos. KD 951 to KD 953 *;KD 10 type *:Railcar (DMU) for busy hours, used with conductor. Nos. KD 11, KD 12, previously

Nagoya Railroad , referred to as , is a private railway company operating around Aichi Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture of Japan. Some of the more famous trains operated by Meitetsu include the ''Panorama Car'' and the '' Panorama Car Super'', both of which off ...

"Kiha 10" type, nos. "Kiha 15", "Kiha 16" *For maintenance *;DB 10 type *:Diesel locomotive, 4-wheel. No. DB 101 *; KuriharaDenTetsuED202

MC 100 type *:Motor car *;No. "To 102", "To 103" *:Wooden truck (gondola) *;No. "Wafu 74" *:Wooden wagon *Preserved from electrified period, at Kurihara Mine Park Mae *;ED202 *:Electric locomotive, 2-truck, 8-wheel. Regauged survivour of {{RailGauge, 762mm era *;No. "Wa 71" *:Wooden wagon *Left intact in Wakayanagi depot *;EMUs used until 1995 *:M15 type, newly built on regaugement, etc.

In Popular Culture

The Kurihara Den'en Railway line was featured in the non-fiction manga and anime series

Tetsuko no Tabi is a Japanese nonfiction manga series authored by Hirohiko Yokomi and illustrated by Naoe Kikuchi. The manga was serialized in Shogakukan's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Ikki'' between 2001 and 2006. A thirteen-episode anime televisio ...

Rail transport in Miyagi Prefecture 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan 2 ft 6 in gauge railways in Japan Kurihara, Miyagi Tome, Miyagi Railway lines opened in 1921 Railway lines closed in 2007