The is a 16.2 km long Japanese railway line from

Shimo-Imaichi Station is a railway station in the city of Nikkō, Tochigi, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Tōbu Railway. The station is numbered "TN-23". Lines Shimo-Imaichi Station is served by the 94.5 km Tōbu Nikkō Line, and is also the s ...

to Shin-Fujiwara Station in Nikkō, Tochigi. It is owned and operated by the

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

Tobu Railway is a Japanese commuter railway and ''keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second longes ...

. At Shimo-Imaichi Station it connects with the

Tobu Nikko Line is a Japanese commuter railway and ''keiretsu'' holding company in the Greater Tokyo Area as well as an intercity and regional operator in the Kantō region. Excluding the Japan Railways Group companies, Tobu's rail system is the second longes ...

. At Shin-Fujiwara Station it connects with the Yagan Railway Aizu Kinugawa Line. Some trains goes beyond the Aizu Kinugawa Line terminus at Aizu-Kōgen Oze-guchi Station onto the

Aizu Railway Aizu Line The is a long railway line from Nishi-Wakamatsu Station in Aizuwakamatsu to Aizukōgen-Ozeguchi Station in Minamiaizu, Fukushima, Japan. It is owned and operated by Aizu Railway. Services The train operation is controlled from Aizu-Tajima Stat ...

. The line runs surcharged, reserved-seat limited express services from and to

Asakusa is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known as the location of the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as the . History The ...

and

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

in Tokyo. The whole line is electrified at 1,500 V DC, but it is single tracked except for a 0.8 km double-tracked section at Kinugawa-Onsen Station.

Stations

All stations are located within Nikkō, Tochigi. TB Nikko, Kinugawa, Aidu-Kinugawa, Aidu Line

History

* 1915: was licensed to build a gauge steam-hauled tramway. It was renamed in the same year. * 2 January 1917: A section from Daiya-gawa Hokugan Station to Kinugawa Nangan Station was opened. The line was extended a further the same year. * March 1919: Ōhara Station to Shimotaki Station section was opened. * October 1919: Daiya Mukō Imaichi Station to Shin-Imaichi Station section was opened. * 1 January 1920: Shimotaki Station to Fujiwara Station section was open to complete the whole line. * 6 June 1921: The company name was renamed . * 9 March 1922: The whole line was electrified at 600 V DC. * April 1927: The corporate headquarters was relocated to the Tobu Railway headquarters in Tokyo. * 22 October 1929: gauge operation began on all the line. * 1931: The voltage was raised to 1,500 V. * 1 May 1943: Shimotsuke Electric Railway was bought out by Tobu Railway. The line became Tobu Kinugawa Line. * 9 October 1986: Yagan Railway Aizu Kinugawa Line through service began. * 12 October 1990: Aizu Railway Aizu Line through service to Aizu Tajima Station began. * 18 March 2006: New '' Kinugawa'' services to/from commence. From 17 March 2012, station numbering was introduced on all Tobu lines, with Tobu Kinugawa Line stations adopting the prefix "TN" in orange. A new station, called

Tobu World Square Station is a railway station in the city of Nikkō, Tochigi, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Tobu Railway. It opened on 22 July 2017, and primarily serves the adjacent Tobu World Square theme park. Lines Tobu World Square Station is se ...

, opened between and on 22 July 2017 to serve the nearby

Tobu World Square is a theme park in Kinugawa Onsen, Nikkō, Tochigi, Japan. The theme park contains over a hundred 1:25 scale models of famous buildings, including UNESCO-designated World Cultural and Heritage Sites, complete with 140,000 1:25 miniature people. ...

theme park. From this date,

was numbered "TN-55", and the station numbers for to were adjusted on 21 April 2017, ahead of the opening.

Future developments

Steam-hauled services

Tobu Railway C11 207 taiju Shimo-Imaichi Station 20200620

Tobu has leased former

JNR Class C11 The is a type of 2-6-4T steam locomotive built by the Japanese Government Railways and the Japanese National Railways from 1932 to 1947. A total of 381 Class C11 locomotives were built and designed by Hideo Shima . Overview The Class C11 was ...

steam locomotive C11 207 from

JR Hokkaido The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to using its official abbreviation of . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a sm ...

for use on the 12.4 km section of the Kinugawa Line between and stations from 10 August 2017. Turntables will also be installed at and to turn the locomotive in service. A two-stall engine shed is also being constructed for the steam loco at Shimo-Imaichi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tobu Kinugawa Line Kinugawa Line Rail transport in Tochigi Prefecture 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan 2 ft 6 in gauge railways in Japan

Stations

History

Future developments

Steam-hauled services

See also

References