The is a railway line in

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 ea ...

, Japan, connecting in the city of Goshogawara and in the town of

Nakadomari is a town located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 10,779 in 5093 households, and a population density of 50 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Nakadomari is in Kitatsugaru Distric ...

, in central-southern Tsugaru Peninsula. The line is the only railway line operated by the

Tsugaru Railway Company The , also known as , is a railway company that provides transportation services in western Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The company operates the Tsugaru Railway Line, which connects Tsugaru-Goshogawara Station in the city of Goshogawara with Ts ...

, which is locally referred to as . The Tsugaru Railway Line is notable for its seasonal trains that are run during the summer, autumn and winter. The Tsugaru Railway Line should not be confused with the former government Tsugaru Line, now operated by

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters ar ...

Operation

The Tsugaru Railway Line is single-track for its entire length, and its sole

passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...

is located at Kanagi Station. Railway signaling of the line consists of two staff tokens; one token controls access between and , while the other token controls access between and . As of 1 December 2020, there are 14 round-trip trains daily that run between and , and an additional 2 trains that run between and (one of which does not run on holidays), providing a generally hourly service during the day. All train services on the line are officially classified by the company as ''Local'' services, and most trains stop at all stations; however, some trains are timetabled to skip several stations. Historically, such trains were classified separately as ''Semi-Express'' services,『JTB時刻表』2016年4月号（JTBパブリッシング）p.793 and are referred to as such in the station list below. During the summer (from 1 July to 31 August), locally-made

wind chime Wind chimes are a type of percussion instrument constructed from suspended tubes, rods, bells or other objects that are often made of metal or wood. The tubes or rods are suspended along with some type of weight or surface which the tubes or r ...

s and haiku strips are hung from the ceiling of all trains in operation. These are replaced with baskets of

Suzumushi ''Meloimorpha japonica'',Haan W de (1844) in Temminck d.''Verhandelingen over de Natuurlijke Geschiedenis der Nederlansche Overzeesche Bezittingen'' 24: 236. also known as , the bell cricket, and the bell-ring cricket, is a species of cricket ...

during the autumn (1 September to mid-October).

Stove train

During the winter (from 1 December until 31 March the following year), a 'stove train' is generally operated three times per day. The 'stove train' features a traditional passenger car heated using a

potbelly stove A potbelly stove is a cast-iron, coal-burning or wood-burning stove that is cylindrical with a bulge in the middle. Gove PB (editor in chief) (1981). ''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged''. Springfie ...

. A supplementary 'stove train' ticket, which costs ¥500, is required to board the 'stove train'. 'Stove trains' follow the ''Semi-Express'' stopping pattern.

Station list

History

The Tsugaru Railway Company was founded in 1928, and the first section of the line was opened on July 15, 1930 from Goshogawara to Kanagi. This was extended to Ōzawanai by October 4, 1930, and to its present terminus of Tsugaru-Nakasato by November 13, 1930. All freight operations were discontinued on February 1, 1984. File:140914 Tsugaru Railway Goshogawara Aomori pref Japan01bs3.jpg, The company's head office in Goshogawara

Former connecting lines

* Kanagi station - The Tsugaru Forest Railway, utilising a

Shay locomotive The Shay locomotive is a geared steam locomotive that originated and was primarily used in North America. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a ''geared s ...

and consisting of a 67 km main line (including two tunnels) and four branches between 2 and 8 km in length, operated between 1906 and 1970.

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.

External links

* {{in lang, ja Railway lines in Japan Rail transport in Aomori Prefecture * 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1930