Tosa Kuroshio Railway Nakamura Station 20100825 1

The is a third-sector railway company in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. The name comes from the former

Tosa Province was a province of Japan in the area of southern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tosa''" in . Tosa bordered on Awa to the northeast, and Iyo to the northwest. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō syst ...

and the

Kuroshio Current The , also known as the Black or or the is a north-flowing, warm ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean basin. It was named for the deep blue appearance of its waters. Similar to the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic, the Ku ...

. The company was founded in 1986, and operates three lines: a former

Japanese National Railways The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

(JNR) line (the Nakamura Line) and two planned JNR lines on which construction had commenced but then been suspended due to JNR construction funds being diverted to

shinkansen The , colloquially known in English as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. Initially, it was built to connect distant Japanese regions with Tokyo, the capital, to aid economic growth and development. Beyond l ...

projects in the 1980s (the Sukumo and Asa lines). After its formation, the company recommenced construction and subsequently opened the lines and now operates them.

Ownership

As of January 2013, shares in the company are owned by Kōchi Prefecture (49.1%), the city of Sukumo (8.3%), the city of Aki (7.3%), the city of Shimanto (6.4%), and Shikoku Bank (4.8%).

Lines

Tosa Kuroshio Railway operates the following three lines. * Nakamura Line (labeled "TK") ** — (43.0 km) * Sukumo Line (labeled "TK") ** — (23.6 km) * Asa Line (labeled "GN") **The official nickname is . ** — (42.7 km)

Station numbering

Each company station has a unique alpha-numeric label that complements the

Shikoku Railway Company The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has i ...

(JR Shikoku) system, designed to assist passengers unfamiliar with the lines, especially at transfer stations. For example, Gomen JR station's label is "D40", with "GN40" being the label of the Tosa Gomen Station.

Rolling stock

As of April 2014, the company owned a fleet of 23

diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

cars as shown below. * 2000 series (1 x 4-car set, identical design to

JR Shikoku 2000 series The is a tilting diesel multiple unit (DMU) train type operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku) on limited express services in Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a po ...

) * TKT-8000 series single-car units (8 cars, built 1988 to 1999) * 9640 series single-car units (11 cars, built 2002) ("9640" can be read as "Kuroshio" in Japanese)

History

The Tosa Kuroshio Railway was founded on 8 May 1986 for the purpose of resuming construction of the Sukumo and Asa lines, which had been planned by JNR but abandoned. The company however first took over control of operations on the 43.0 km former JNR Nakamura Line ( to ) from 1 April 1988, as its continued operation was a requisite for opening the Sukumo Line. The company opened the 23.6 km Sukumo Line ( to ) on 1 October 1997, and the 42.7 km Asa Line ( to ) on 1 July 2002.

References