The is a railway line in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, operated by the third-sector operator . The line connects Mino-Ōta Station in Minokamo with Hokunō Station in Gujō. It is the only railway line operated by the Nagaragawa Railway. The line was originally operated by

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 pref ...

(JNR). JNR planned to connect the Etsumi-Nan Line and

Etsumi-Hoku Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The line extends 52.5 km (32.6 mi) from Echizen-Hanandō Station in Fukui to Kuzuryūko Station in Ōno with a total of 22 stations. It ...

("Etsumi North Line"), but the plan was never realized. The north line was later succeeded by

West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...

(JR West), while the south line was taken by Nagaragawa Railway, a newly founded third-sector company, in 1986. As the company name suggests, the line runs along

Nagara River The has its source in the city of Gujō, Gifu Prefecture, and its mouth in the city of Kuwana, Mie Prefecture, Japan. Along with the Kiso River and Ibi River, the Nagara River is one of the Kiso Three Rivers of the Nōbi Plain. Previously, t ...

. As a consequence of Japan's declining population and frequent natural disasters (such as typhoons and heavy snowfall), the company is facing financial difficulties.

History

The original goal of

(JNR) was to build a railway line to the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, i ...

northward through the

valley. However, due to the resource requirements of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the Pacific War, this objective was never achieved and only was ever built. The first section to open was between Mino-Ōta and Minoshi on 5 October 1923. The JNR then proceeded to extend the line progressively northwards until it reached Hokunō in 1934. Although a ¼-mile section of track was laid beyond Hokunō, no further construction on the line was ever undertaken. The line was used by trolley cars. Freight services ceased in 1974. The picturesque line is now popular with visitors and tourists. Beginning in April 2016, a two-car sightseeing train , which was created by industrial designer

Eiji Mitooka is a Japanese industrial designer, illustrator, and managing director of the industrial design company . He also works as a design consultant for Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). Biography Mitooka graduated from Okayama Technical High Sch ...

, runs weekly services between Mino-Ota and Hokunō. Passengers are served a selection of

bento A is the Japanese iteration of a single-portion take-out or home-packed meal, often for lunch. Outside Japan, it is common in other East and Southeast Asian culinary styles, especially within Chinese, Korean, Singaporean cuisines and more, ...

dishes created from locally-sourced seasonal ingredients from Gifu Prefecture.

Stations

Rolling stock

Starting spring 2016, two of the line's Nagara 300 series diesel cars are scheduled to be rebuilt as a ''Nagara'' sightseeing train. The rebuilding work on the two cars will be overseen by Don Design Associates, headed by industrial designer

References

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

External links

* {{Nagoya transit Railway lines in Japan Rail transport in Gifu Prefecture 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Railway lines opened in 1923 1923 establishments in Japan Japanese third-sector railway lines

History

Stations

Rolling stock

See also

References

External links