The is a
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
line of the
Japanese private railway company
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
Kintetsu-Yokkaichi Station (
Yokkaichi
is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 310,259 in 142162 households and a population density of 1500 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
Geography
Yokkaichi is located in north-central ...
,
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 ...
) and
Yunoyama-Onsen Station (
Komono
260px, Gozaisho Ropeway and Komono in distance
is a town located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 41,542 in 16883 households and a population density of 390 persons per km². The total area of the town was .
Ge ...
, Mie Prefecture) in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
The line connects with the
Nagoya Line and
Yokkaichi Asunarou Railway Utsube Line
The is a narrow gauge railway line operated by the Japanese private railway company Yokkaichi Asunarou Railway, connecting Asunarou Yokkaichi Station and Utsube Station, both in the city of Yokkaichi, Mie, Japan.
The line connects with the ...
at Kintetsu-Yokkaichi Station.
History
Yokkaichi Railway
The Yunoyama Line was originally conceived and built by ) in the 1910s. It was constructed with the purposes of providing access in the city of
Yokkaichi
is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 310,259 in 142162 households and a population density of 1500 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
Geography
Yokkaichi is located in north-central ...
and providing tourists access to the
Yunoyama area. The line was completed in 1913 and in 1916 an extension from the line's origin, (at that time called
Suwa Station
is the railway station in Ōmura, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by JR Kyushu and is on the Ōmura Line.
Lines
The station is served by the Ōmura Line and is located 34.8 km from the starting point of the line at . Only local ...
and located slightly to the east), to
JR was added. However, this extension had a relatively short life as part of the Yunoyama Line as it was sold to
Ise Electric Railway
, usually abbreviated as Iseden (伊勢電), was a private railway company that operated mostly in Mie Prefecture, Japan, for 25 years from 1911 to 1936, when it was absorbed by Sangū Express Electric Railway. At its height, Iseden operated thre ...
(''Iseden'') in 1927, who used it for the extension of their
main line
Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to:
Transportation
Railway
* Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system
* Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...
from Yokkaichi to . This made Suwa Station, a hub between three private railways and the biggest station in Yokkaichi, the origin again.
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
s originally ran on the tracks; in the 1920s the line was
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 ...
, following a trend of many railways in the area.
Ownership of the line has shifted. Yokkaichi Railway created the line. It was absorbed by
Mie Railway
Mie may refer to:
Places
* Mie, Ōita (), a former town in Ōita Prefecture, Japan
* Mie District, Mie (), a district in Mie Prefecture, Japan
* Mie Prefecture (), a prefecture of Japan
* Mie University (), a national university in Tsu, Mie Prefec ...
(''Santetsu'') in 1931, who built and operated the nearby
Utsube Line which also originated from Suwa Station at that time. Then in 1944, Santetsu, 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''). 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.
Renovation
In 1954 the beginning of the route received a significant re-routing at the hands of Sanco, the owner. The
Nagoya Line suffered from many sharp curves on its way through Yokkaichi to Suwa Station. Kintetsu developed a plan to straighten the line as well as enlarge Suwa Station, which would be moved about a kilometer to the west. Construction began in 1952 and took a few years to be completed. In accordance with this plan, Sanco altered its own Yokkaichi-area railways in 1956 to use the new location of Suwa Station, which was renamed to Kintetsu-Yokkaichi Station. From Nakagawara Station, the track that ran to the old Suwa Station was closed and a new track was built to Kintetsu-Yokkaichi. After this new section was completed, the Yunoyama Line originated from the part of Kintetsu-Yokkaichi Station where the Utsube Line still originates today; the two lines had the same
track 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 ...
at that time and connected directly with each other.
About 10 years later, in 1964, when Sanden took over the railway, more improvements were carried out even though Sanden only owned the line for about one year. Yokkaichi Railway constructed the line with an especially narrow gauge of . In the interest of direct connection with the Kintetsu Nagoya Line, the technical specs of the line were altered to match those of the Nagoya Line; the Yunoyama Line gauge was widened to and the
voltage
Voltage, also known as electric pressure, electric tension, or (electric) potential difference, is the difference in electric potential between two points. In a static electric field, it corresponds to the work needed per unit of charge to m ...
was increased to 1500 V. These changes severed the direct connection with the Utsube Line, however, direct connection with the Nagoya Line, a major railway trunk line, was seen as more beneficial.
When Kintetsu acquired the line the following year, it was relatively painless to tie the two lines together and it soon began offering limited express service directly from in Osaka and to Yunoyama, aimed at attracting tourists to the onsen and nearby
Mount Gozaisho
{{nihongo, Mount Gozaisho, 御在所岳, Gozaisho-dake is a Japanese mountain located on the border of Komono, Mie Prefecture and Higashi-Ōmi, Shiga Prefecture.
This mountain is the center of Suzuka Quasi-National Park.
Outline
Mount Gozaish ...
. This service was offered for over 30 years but was ceased in 1998 due to insufficient ridership. Limited express trains that originated at Kintetsu-Yokkaichi continued to run the length of the Yunoyama Line for a few more years, but this service was ended in 2004. The Yunoyama Line is notable because it is the only one of Kintetsu's many small branch lines to have offered limited express service.
Timeline
*June 1, 1913 – Kawashimamura (now Ise-Kawashima) ~ Yunoyama (now Yunoyama-Onsen) section opened by Yokkaichi Railway.
*September 24, 1913 – Suwa (now Kintetsu-Yokkaichi) ~ Kawashimamura section opens.
*March 3, 1916 – Yokkaichi (
Kokutetsu
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 pref ...
) ~ Suwa section opens.
*November 1, 1921 – Entire line
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 ...
.
*November 29, 1927 – Yokkaichi – Suwa section closes. Suwa becomes the origin of the line.
*March 1, 1931 – Yokkaichi Railway is absorbed by
Mie Railway
Mie may refer to:
Places
* Mie, Ōita (), a former town in Ōita Prefecture, Japan
* Mie District, Mie (), a district in Mie Prefecture, Japan
* Mie Prefecture (), a prefecture of Japan
* Mie University (), a national university in Tsu, Mie Prefec ...
(''Santetsu'').
*February 1, 1944 – Matsumotomura Station officially renamed Ise-Matsumoto Station.
*February 11, 1944 – Santetsu and six other companies merge to form
Mie Transport (''Sanco''). Connection with Utsube Line opens. Officially renamed Sanco Mie Line.
*July 1, 1954 – Kawashimamura Station officially renamed Ise-Kawashima Station. Sakuramura Station officially renamed Sakura Station.
*September 23, 1956 – Suwa Station closed, moved, and re-opened as Kintetsu-Yokkaichi Station. Suwa ~ Nakagawara section closes. Kintetsu-Yokkaichi ~ Nakagawara section opens.
*February 1, 1964 – Sanco railway division splits off and forms a new company Mie Electric Railway (''Sanden'').
*March 23, 1964 – Ōbane-en Station opens. Voltage along line increased to 1500 V. Entire line
re-gauged from to . Direct connection with Utsube Line closes. Direct connection with Nagoya Line opens.
*April 1, 1965 – Sanden, and all of its lines, are acquired by
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''). Line officially renamed Kintetsu Yunoyama Line.
*July 15, 1965 – Direct limited express service from Osaka and Nagoya begins.
*October 17, 1968 –
ATS system activated on entire line.
*August 1, 1970 – Yunoyama Station officially renamed to Yunoyama-Onsen Station.
*March 11, 1973 – Elevated portion of the Kintetsu-Yokkaichi ~ Nakagawara section is completed and opens.
*March 17, 1998 – Direct limited express service from Osaka and Nagoya ends.
*March 18, 2004 – Limited express service along the line ends.
Service
Local (普通 ''futsū'')
: For
: For
:Locals stop at every station.
:All trains offer conductor-less (''one man'') service.
:Trains run twice per hour during the day, three or four times per hour in the mornings and evenings.
Limited express service on the Yunoyama Line ended in 2004.
2008 limited express service
Direct limited express service to and from Nagoya will be temporarily resumed on weekends and holidays in late July and early August 2008 in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the
Gozaisho Ropeway
The is the name of a Japanese aerial lift line, as well as its operator. Opened in 1959, the line climbs in Komono, Mie. Riders can see a view of Yokkaichi and Ise Bay. The mountain itself is known for its scenery and Yunoyama Onsen. The lin ...
as well as the 40th anniversary of
Suzuka National Park. These trains will run once a day in each direction.
[Temporary resumption of the Nagoya ~ Yunoyama-Onsen limited express direct service: 2008-05-13]
(PDF). 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 ...
. Limited express trains on the Yunoyama Line will go from Kintetsu-Yokkaichi to Yunoyama-Onsen without stopping.
Stations
References
*
Kintetsu Line Archives - Yunoyama Line*
Wikipedia - Kintetsu Yunoyama Line
Footnotes
External links
Kintetsu railway network map - Yunoyama Line*
{{Kintetsu Lines
Yunoyama Line
The is a railway line of the Rail transport in Japan#Major private railways, Japanese private railway company Kintetsu Railway, connecting Kintetsu-Yokkaichi Station (Yokkaichi, Mie, Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture) and Yunoyama-Onsen Station (Komono, ...
Rail transport in Mie Prefecture
Standard gauge railways in Japan
Railway lines opened in 1913
2 ft 6 in gauge railways in Japan
1913 establishments in Japan