The is a railway route operated by the Japanese

private railway A private railway is a railroad run by a private business entity (usually a corporation but not need be), as opposed to a railroad run by a public sector. Japan In Japan, , commonly simply ''private railway'', refers to a public transit railway o ...

operator

Kōnan Railway Konan may refer to: * Conan (disambiguation), a name spelt "Konan" in the Breton language * ''Kɔnan'', a male given name in a number of Akan cultures, chiefly the Baoulé people, for whom it is typically given to any male born on a Wednesday (''m ...

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, ...

, from

Hirosaki Station is a railway station in the city of Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, Japan, jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the private railway operator Kōnan Railway. It is also a freight terminal for the Japan Freight Railway Compa ...

Hirosaki is a city located in western Aomori Prefecture, Japan. On 1 April 2020, the city had an estimated population of 168,739 in 71,716 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Hirosaki developed as a castle town fo ...

to Kuroishi Station in Kuroishi.

Station list

* Tamboāto Station is open from April to November only.

Rolling stock

Rolling stock on the line consists of former Tokyu 6000 and 7000 series

EMUs Emus may refer to: * Emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the g ...

. Ex-

Nankai Railway is a private railway in Japan, founded in 1884. The name ''Nankai'' (which means "South Sea") comes from the company's routes along the Nankaidō, the old highway that ran south from the old capital, Kyoto, along the sea coast. Nankai predates a ...

1521 series 4-door EMUs were also previously used, but these were withdrawn in 2008 following the discontinuation of limited-stop "Rapid" services. An electric locomotive is also available for use on winter snow-clearing duties.

History

The Kōnan Railway was founded on March 27, 1926, and began operations between Hirosaki and

Tsugaru-Onoe Station is a railway station on the Kōnan Railway Kōnan Line in Hirakawa, Aomori, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Kōnan Railway Company. Lines Tsugaru-Onoe Station is served by the Kōnan Railway Kōnan Line, and lies 11.1 kilometer ...

on September 7, 1927. On July 1, 1948, the line was

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...

at 600 volts DC. The line was extended to Kōnan-Kuroishi Station (present-day Kuroishi Station) on July 1, 1950. Voltage on the line was raised to 750 volts on April 1, 1954, and to 1,500 volts on September 1, 1961. Freight services ceased in 1984.

Former connecting lines

* Kuroishi station - The line to Kawabe on the

Ou Main Line OU or Ou or ou may stand for: Universities United States * Oakland University in Oakland County, Michigan * Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama * Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia * Ohio University in Athens, Ohio * Olivet Universi ...

was opened in 1912 by the JGR, transferred to the Konan Railway Co. in 1984, the year that freight services ceased, and closed in 1998.

Accidents

A train derailed at

Hiraka Station is a railway station in Hirakawa, Aomori, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Kōnan Railway Company. Lines Hiraka Station is served by the Kōnan Railway Kōnan Line, and lies 7.5 kilometers from the northern terminus of the line a ...

on June 12, 2007, but no injuries were reported.

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia * Harris, Ken and Clarke, Jackie. ''Jane's World Railways 2008-2009''. Jane's Information Group (2008).

External links

Konan Railway website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konan Railway Konan Line Railway lines in Japan Rail transport in Aomori Prefecture 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1927