The is a railway line in
Mie Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture to ...
, Japan, operated by
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
Kintetsu Railway
, referred to as , is a Japanese passenger railway company, managing infrastructure and operating passenger train service. Its railway system is the largest in Japan, excluding Japan Railways Group. The railway network connects Osaka, Nara, Kyot ...
, connecting
Toba Station
is a junction passenger railway station located in the city of Toba, Mie Prefecture. Japan. It is jointly operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and the private railway operator Kintetsu Railway.
Lines
Toba Station is served by ...
in
Toba Toba may refer to:
Languages
* Toba Sur language, spoken in South America
* Batak Toba, spoken in Indonesia
People
* Toba people, indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco in South America
* Toba Batak people, a sub-ethnic group of Batak people from ...
with
Kashikojima Station
is a passenger railway station in located in the city of Shima, Mie Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Kintetsu Railway.
Lines
Kashikojima Station is a terminus of the Shima Line and a common destination for Kintetsu ...
in
Shima
Shima may refer to:
Places
, Japan
* Shima Province (志摩), one of the old provinces of Japan
* Shima, Fukuoka (志摩), a former town in Fukuoka Prefecture
* Shima, Mie (志摩), a city in Mie Prefecture
** Shima, Mie (town), a former town ...
.
The line connects with the
Toba Line
The is a railway line operated by the Japanese private railway company Kintetsu Railway, connecting Ujiyamada Station in Ise, Mie with Toba Station in Toba, Mie. The line runs parallel to JR Central's Sangū Line.
The line connects with the ...
at Toba Station. The
Yamada Line, Toba Line, and Shima Line form a single train line that begins at
Ise-Nakagawa Station
is a major junction station owned and operated by the private Kintetsu railway company in the city of Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture. The station is served by all trains on that company's Yamada Line and most trains on its Nagoya and Osaka Lines. The ...
and serves the
Ise-Shima The region of Japan, also called the , refers to the areas of eastern Mie Prefecture in or around Ise-Shima National Park, which include the cities Ise, Toba, Shima, and parts of the town of Minami-Ise. The area thrives on tourism, with many reso ...
tourist region.
Service
LO Local (普通 ''futsū'')
: For
: For
:(Locals stop at every station.)
LE Limited Express (特急 ''tokkyū'')
: For and ; via and (
Kashihara
is a city located in Nara Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 124,829, with 52,034 households. Population density is around 3,176.79 persons per km2, and the total area is 39.52 km2.
The city was founded on Februa ...
)
: For ; via (
Nara
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...
)
: For ; via and
: For
:(Seat reservations and limited express fee required.)
NS Non-stop Limited Express (ノンストップ特急 ''nonsutoppu tokkyū'')
: For
: For
: For
:(Runs twice a day on weekends.)
:(Seat reservations and limited express fee required.)
SV Premium Express Shimakaze (しまかぜ ''Shimakaze'')
近畿日本鉄道|観光特急しまかぜのご案内
- Kintetsu ''Kintetsu'' is the abbreviation of , or Kintetsu Railway, a Japanese railway corporation.
It may also refer to:
Companies
* Kintetsu Group Holdings, the holding corporation of the Kintetsu Railway
** Kintetsu Bus, a bus company and a subsidiary ...
.
: For
: For
: For
: For
:(Train to and from Osaka runs once a day except on Tuesday with some exceptions.)
:(Train to and from Kyoto runs once a day except on Wednesday with some exceptions.)
:(Train to and from Nagoya runs once a day except on Thursday with some exceptions.)
:(Seat reservations, limited express fee and "Shimakaze" special vehicle fee required.)
Stations
History
During the Meiji era
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization b ...
, travelers coming to modern-day Shima
Shima may refer to:
Places
, Japan
* Shima Province (志摩), one of the old provinces of Japan
* Shima, Fukuoka (志摩), a former town in Fukuoka Prefecture
* Shima, Mie (志摩), a city in Mie Prefecture
** Shima, Mie (town), a former town ...
walked along the Ise-Isobe road, now known as Mie Route 32. In 1911, as the Meiji era neared its end, the government-owned Sangū Line
The is a railway line run by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), connecting Taki Station ( Taki, Mie) with Toba Station (Toba, Mie) in Japan.
The line connects with the Kisei Main Line at Taki Station. From Taki, the line runs parallel ...
(now owned by JR Central
is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu (Nagoya) region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and in Japanese as JR Tōkai ( ja, JR東海, links=no). ''Tōkai'' is a reference to the geographical ...
) was extended from the city of Ujiyamada
, formerly called Ujiyamada (宇治山田), is a city in central Mie Prefecture, on the island of Honshū, Japan. Ise is home to Ise Grand Shrine, the most sacred Shintō shrine in Japan. The city has a long-standing title – Shinto (神都) ...
(modern-day Ise Ise may refer to:
Places
* Ise, Mie, a city in Japan
**Ise Grand Shrine, a Shinto shrine located in Ise, Mie
* Ise Ekiti, a city in Nigeria
*Ise, Norway, a village in Norway
*Ise Province, an ancient province of Japan
* River Ise, a tributary of th ...
) to Toba Toba may refer to:
Languages
* Toba Sur language, spoken in South America
* Batak Toba, spoken in Indonesia
People
* Toba people, indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco in South America
* Toba Batak people, a sub-ethnic group of Batak people from ...
, making Toba the default origin of any railroad to Shima, and not Ujiyamada. During the 1910s, as the Taishō period began, many plans were put forth by various members of the railroad industry, but none were implemented.
Shima Electric Railway
In 1923, was established by Kakuya Morimoto, and by 1924 the plan for a railroad to Shima was finally approved. This plan specified Toba Station
is a junction passenger railway station located in the city of Toba, Mie Prefecture. Japan. It is jointly operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and the private railway operator Kintetsu Railway.
Lines
Toba Station is served by ...
as the origin, as well as a track gauge
Gauge ( or ) may refer to:
Measurement
* Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments
* Gauge (firearms)
* Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire
** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, es ...
of , allowing the line to connect directly with the Sangū Line (also ) in Toba. The original plan also specified that Ugata Station
is a passenger railway station in located in the city of Shima, Mie Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Kintetsu Railway.
Lines
Ugata Station is served by the Shima Line, and is located 62.8 rail kilometers from the t ...
would be the terminus. However, shortly before construction began, a request was made to members of an already-established railway company, Tokyu Corporation
The is a Japanese multinational ''keiretsu'' ( conglomerate) holding company headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. Its main operation is , a wholly owned subsidiary operating railways in the Greater Tokyo Area.
History
The oldest predecessor ...
, to see if the plan drawn up by Shima Electric Railway was sound. In the end, the only recommendation made was that the terminus be extended from Ugata to a nearby uninhabited island in Ago Bay
is a bay in the city of Shima, Mie Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the Ise-Shima region.
The bay is known for its beauty and sees many tourists each year, in particular due to a train network owned by Kintetsu which runs trains from both Os ...
called Kashiko Island
is an island in Ago Bay. It is in the city of Shima, Mie Prefecture, Japan.
The island was uninhabited until the 1920s when a railway built by Shima Electric Railway (now known as the Shima Line) was constructed to serve as the endpoint of the ...
, citing the island's natural beauty as conducive to establishing a profitable resort and tourism industry catering to travelers and pilgrims already coming to the area to visit nearby Ise Grand Shrine
The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and .
The Inn ...
. Executives at Shima Electric Railway incorporated this suggestion into their plan and decided the line would include two stations on Kashiko Island: Kashikojima Station
is a passenger railway station in located in the city of Shima, Mie Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Kintetsu Railway.
Lines
Kashikojima Station is a terminus of the Shima Line and a common destination for Kintetsu ...
for tourists, and , the new terminus, for use as a freight station by the area's marine industry. However, the people living near Ugata, the original terminus, opposed the new plan because they felt having the line's endpoint in their area would bring economic benefit. This period of opposition lasted for four years, during which people living near Ugata refused to sell the land needed by Shima Electric Railway to lay track leading to Kashiko Island, thereby delaying construction. After an agreement was reached, the line was finally completed and opened in 1929, five years after the original plan had been drafted.
In 1944, Shima Electric Railway, along with six other companies, merged to form Mie Transport (''Sanco''). Twenty years later, the railway department of Sanco split off to become a separate company called Mie Electric Railway (''Sanden''), however this organization was short-lived as it was bought up by railway giant Kinki Nippon Railway
, referred to as , is a Japanese passenger railway company, managing infrastructure and operating passenger train service. Its railway system is the largest in Japan, excluding Japan Railways Group. The railway network connects Osaka, Nara, Kyot ...
(''Kintetsu'') the following year, and thus in 1965 the line came under its current name and ownership.
Kintetsu renovation
In acquiring the line, Kintetsu now had a problem because the Shima Line, which originated at Toba Station, was not connected with the rest of Kintetsu's extensive rail network which stretched only as far as Ujiyamada Station in Ise. Moreover, the railway 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 ...
and voltage used on the Shima Line were different from the majority of Kintetsu lines, including the nearby Yamada Line which terminated at Ujiyamada. For the time being, Kintetsu offered bus service between Ujiyamada and Toba, but in the late 1960s they decided it was worthwhile to create a rail connection between the two in hopes of attracting customers from the upcoming 1970 World's Fair in Osaka by offering direct rail service to the area. This was the impetus for the construction of the Toba Line
The is a railway line operated by the Japanese private railway company Kintetsu Railway, connecting Ujiyamada Station in Ise, Mie with Toba Station in Toba, Mie. The line runs parallel to JR Central's Sangū Line.
The line connects with the ...
, and to make direct service possible between the Shima Line, the under-construction Toba Line, the Yamada Line, and beyond, the Shima Line was closed for four months in late 1969 and early 1970 to change the gauge to and double the voltage to 1,500 V DC to match the other Kintetsu lines it would connect with. Other improvements were added such as the ATS system, a new switching network, and gentler curves. The renovated Shima Line and the newly built Toba Line opened together in March 1970, and Kintetsu began running limited express trains from and to Kashikojima just in time for the beginning of the World's Fair. The sharp increase of passengers on the line also motivated Kintetsu to invest money in a variety of tourism business enterprises in the Ise-Shima The region of Japan, also called the , refers to the areas of eastern Mie Prefecture in or around Ise-Shima National Park, which include the cities Ise, Toba, Shima, and parts of the town of Minami-Ise. The area thrives on tourism, with many reso ...
, especially along the Shima Line.
In 1986, it was decided that a second track on the Shima Line would assist in increasing the speed and number of trains on the line. Construction took several years and now most but not all of the line has dual tracks. The Aomine Tunnel between Shiraki and Gochi was also added to the line during this phase.
Timeline
*July 23, 1929 - Toba - Kashikojima - Shinjukō section opened by Shima Electric Railway.
*February 11, 1944 - Shima Electric Railway and six other companies merge to form Mie Transport (''Sanco''). Line officially renamed Sanco Shima Line.
*December 1, 1946 - Ugataguchi Station officially renamed to Shima-Yokoyama Station.
*July 25, 1949 - Shima-Akasaki Station opens.
*February 1, 1964 - Sanco railway division splits off and forms a new company Mie Electric Railway (''Sanden''). Line officially renamed Sanden Shima Line.
*April 1, 1965 - Sanden, and all of its lines, are acquired by Kintetsu ''Kintetsu'' is the abbreviation of , or Kintetsu Railway, a Japanese railway corporation.
It may also refer to:
Companies
* Kintetsu Group Holdings, the holding corporation of the Kintetsu Railway
** Kintetsu Bus, a bus company and a subsidiary ...
. Line officially renamed Shima Line.
*July 1, 1969 - Freight service along the line ceases and Shinjukō Station closes. Kashikojima becomes endpoint.
*December 10, 1969 - Shima Line is closed and construction to make various improvements on the line begins.
*March 1, 1970 - Improvements are finished and the Shima Line reopens, now connected to the rest of the Kintetsu rail network. Shima-Isobe Station renamed Kaminogō; Hasama Station renamed Shima-Isobe. Direct service begins from both Osaka and Nagoya to Kashikojima begins.
*March 6, 1988 - Second track opens on Ugata to Shima-Shimmei section.
*December 8, 1990 - Second track opens on Shima-Shimmei to Kashikojima section.
*November 6, 1992 - Second track opens on Toba to Nakanogō section.
*December 22, 1992 - Second track opens on Funatsu to Kamo section.
*April 28, 1993 - Second track opens on Gochi to Kaminogō section.
*June 1, 1993 - Second track opens on Shima-Isobe to Ugata section.
*September 11, 1993 - Second track opens on Kamo to Gochi section. Aomine Tunnel completed.
*September 21, 1993 - Tracks re-routed through Aomine Tunnel on Shiraki to Gochi section. Total line length reduced by 0.7 km.
*May 30, 2001 - ''Wanman'' driver-only operation begins.
References
Kintetsu Line Archives - Shima Line
External links
* ttp://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4308.html Japan Guide - Shima Peninsula Travel - Shima Spain Village
Japan Guide - Shima Peninsula Travel - Ago Bay
{{Kintetsu Lines
Shima Line
The is a railway line in Mie Prefecture, Japan, operated by private railway operator Kintetsu Railway, connecting Toba Station in Toba with Kashikojima Station in Shima.
The line connects with the Toba Line at Toba Station. The Yamada Line, T ...
Rail transport in Mie Prefecture
Railway lines opened in 1929
1067 mm gauge railways in Japan
Standard gauge railways in Japan