The is a 26.3 km

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

owned by the

Heisei Chikuhō Railway The is a third-sector operator of four railway lines in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The railway's nickname is ''Heichiku.'' Principal investors Fukuoka Prefecture holds 27.5% of the stock in the railway. The cities of Tagawa, Nōgata, and Yu ...

. The line runs west along the Ima River from Yukuhashi to

Tagawa is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on November 3, 1943. As of October 1, 2018, the city has an estimated population of 48,241, with 24,537 households. Its total area is 54.52 km². Tagawa was historicall ...

, all within

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

History

The line was first built in 1895 by the , which was merged in 1901 with

Kyushu Railway was a company that built and operated railways in Kyushu, one of four main islands of Japan. Most of its lines came under the control of Japanese Government Railways following nationalization in 1907, and many are now operated by Kyushu Railway ...

. It was an important railway line to transport coal between the Chikuhō coal mine with in

Kanda Kanda may refer to: People * Kanda (surname) *Kanda Bongo Man (born 1955), Congolese soukous musician Places * Kanda, Tokyo, an area in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan **Kanda Station (Tokyo), a railway station in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo * Kanda River, a ri ...

, north of Yukuhashi. Kyushu Railway was

nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to p ...

in 1907 and was merged into

Japanese Government Railway The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national railway system directly operated by the Japanese Ministry of Railways ( ja, 鉄道省, Tetsudō-shō, ) until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan Rai ...

, where it was named the Tagawa Line. In 1942, the line was extended south from Ita Station (now

Tagawa-Ita Station is a railway station in Tagawa, Fukuoka, Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) and Heisei Chikuhō Railway. On 1 April 2009, discount shop chain MrMax acquired naming rights to the Heisei Chikuhō part of the station. Therefor ...

) to Hikosan Station. The portion between Hikosan and Soeda Station was later reorganized into the Hita Line (now Hitahikosan Line) in 1956, and the section between Soeda and Ita was also merged into the same line in 1960 to form the current Tagawa Line. Between 1899 and 1973, a short freight-only branch line ran north from Kawara Station (now Magarikane Station) to Natsuyoshi. Ridership suffered with the decline and closure of the Chikuhō coal mine. Therefore,

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait ...

, the successor of

privatized Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

and transferred the

Ita Line The is a 16.1 km railway line owned by the third-sector company Heisei Chikuhō Railway. The line runs north from Tagawa to Nōgata, all within Fukuoka Prefecture. History The line was first built by the Chikuhō Kōgyō Railway, later ...

Itoda Line The is a 6.8 km railway line owned by the Heisei Chikuhō Railway. The line runs north from Tagawa to Kanada Station, all within Fukuoka Prefecture. History The Itoda Line was built in two parts. The first part was built in 1897 as a bran ...

, and Tagawa Line to the newly founded Heisei Chikuhō Railway in 1997.

Operations

The line is not

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 ...

and is single-tracked for the entire line. Some services continue past

on the

Nōgata Station is a railway station on the Chikuhō Main Line operated by JR Kyushu in Nōgata, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The station also hosts the northern terminus of the Heisei Chikuho Railway Ita Line. Lines The station is served by the Chikuhō Main ...

. The Tagawa Line runs through many historical sites, including the , the oldest railway tunnel in Japan, and the , an old brick

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

. Both sites were registered as national cultural heritage sites in 1999.

Stations

All stations are within

References

{{Specified local lines, state=collapsed Railway lines in Japan Rail transport in Fukuoka Prefecture Railway lines opened in 1895 Japanese third-sector railway lines