The is a railway line in

Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to the ...

, Japan, operated by the third-sector railway operating company Isumi Railway Company. It extends through the central eastern section of the

Bōsō Peninsula The is a peninsula that encompasses the entirety of Chiba Prefecture on Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It is part of the Greater Tokyo Area. It forms the eastern edge of Tokyo Bay, separating it from the Pacific Ocean. The peninsula covers ...

, linking Ōhara Station in the city of

Isumi is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 37,206 in 17,004 households and a population density of 240 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Isumi is located on the east coast ...

, where it connects with the

Sotobō Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, on the eastern (i.e., outer) side of the Bōsō Peninsula. It connects Chiba Station in Chiba to Awa-Kamogawa Station in Kamog ...

, to

Kazusa-Nakano Station is a railway station in Ōtaki, Chiba, Japan, jointly operated by the Isumi Railway Company and Kominato Railway Company. Lines Kazusa-Nakano Station is served by the Isumi Line and Kominato Line. It is located 26.8 km from the eastern ter ...

in the town of Ōtaki, where it connects with the

Kominato Line The is a railway line in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator . It extends from the west coast of central Bōsō Peninsula (where it connects with the Uchibō Line at ) to in the town of Ōtaki (where it connect ...

Station list

*Isumi Railway Line only operates Local services on weekdays. *The Holiday Express runs only on holidays. When you ride on the train, you have to purchase the Express Ticket in addition to fares. The Express Service starts and ends at or . However, you can board on the train between Ōtaki Station and

without Express Tickets because the Holiday Express runs as a Local service in the section. *Stations marked "●" are served by all Express services.

Rolling stock

* Isumi Class 200 single-car DMUs * Isumi Class 300 single-car DMUs, numbers 301 to 302 (since March 2012) * Isumi Class 350 single-car DMU, number 351 (since 2013) * KiHa 28 DMU car KiHa 28 2346 (from

JR West , 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 ...

) * KiHa 30 DMU car Kiha 30 62 (from

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

) *

KiHa 52 The is a Japanese diesel multiple unit (DMU) type formerly operated by Japanese National Railways (JNR); JR Group companies such as JR East, JR West, JR Shikoku & JR Kyushu; and later by the private railway operator Isumi Railway based in Chiba ...

DMU car KiHa 52-125 (from

) * KiHa 20 single-car DMU, number KiHa 20 1303, since September 2015 File:Izumi_200.JPG, Isumi Class 200 DMU cars in May 2011 File:Isumi301.JPG, Isumi Class 300 DMU car 301 in March 2012 File:Isumi railway isumi 350.JPG, Isumi Class 350 DMU car 351 in March 2013 File:Isumi railway kiha 28 2346.JPG, KiHa 28 2346 in March 2013 File:Isumi railway kiha 30 62.JPG, KiHa 30 62 in March 2013 File:Isumi line kiha28+kiha52.JPG, KiHa 52-125 in May 2014 File:Isumi Kiha20 1303 20151030.jpg, KiHa 20 1303 in October 2015 The line uses a fleet of LE-Car II series diesel railcars classified "Isumi Class 200". In December 2010, former JR West

diesel car KiHa 52-125, formerly used on the

Ōito Line The is a railway line in Japan which connects Matsumoto Station in Nagano Prefecture with Itoigawa Station in Niigata Prefecture. There are two operators on the line: East Japan Railway Company (JR East) operates the section north of Minami-Ot ...

was purchased by the Isumi Railway. This was repainted into JNR standard red and cream livery before entering revenue service. From March 2012, two new Isumi Class 300 diesel cars entered service on the line. Built by

Niigata Transys is a Japanese railway vehicle and equipment manufacturer based in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is a subsidiary of IHI Corporation and has a factory in Niigata, and representative offices in Osaka, Sapporo, Sendai, and Niigata. Products Low-f ...

, these feature transverse seating and toilets. On 11 October 2012, a former JR West KiHa 28 DMU car, KiHa 28 2346, was delivered to the line. This is used in conjunction with the KiHa 52 125 car. In January 2013, a JR East KiHa 30 DMU car, KiHa 30 62, previously used on the

Kururi Line The is a railway line in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Kisarazu Station in Kisarazu to Kazusa-Kameyama Station in Kimitsu. The railway route extends through three cities, Kimitsu, K ...

was delivered to the line. In 2013, a new Isumi Class 350 diesel car was delivered. Built by

, this car is based on the Isumi Class 300 design, but has longitudinal seating and no toilet. Designed to resemble the former JNR KiHa 20 DMU, the car is finished in the standard Isumi Railway livery of yellow with green bodyside stipes. In June 2015, a new KiHa 20 diesel car, numbered KiHa 20 1303, was delivered. Built by Niigata Transys, mechanically it is similar to the Class 300 design, and has the same style interior with transverse seating and a toilet, but externally it was built to resemble the JNR KiHa 20 design, like the Class 350 diesel car. The livery is JNR-style red and cream rather than the standard Isumi Railway yellow used on the Class 300 and 350 cars. This unit entered service in September 2015. File:Kiha 52 izumi line.JPG, KiHa 52 125 still in blue and beige livery, December 2010 File:Kiha 52 izumi line no2.JPG, KiHa 52-125 in JNR livery, May 2011

History

Plans for the Isumi Line were drafted by the Railway Ministry under

Railway Construction Act The was promulgated by the Diet of Japan on June 21, 1892, and designated government support for a network of thirty-three railway lines covering most of Japan, with the exception of Hokkaidō. On April 11, 1922, the Diet amended the law to add an ...

in 1922. However, the route already had an existing gauge human-powered tramway, which had been opened by the Chiba Prefectural government on 15 December 1912 to connect Ōhara and Ōtaki. Local opposition and the deficit situation of the existing line delayed construction, which did not begin until 1925. The tramway was bought out by the

Japanese Government Railways 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 ...

in 1927, and the first section of the new was opened on 1 April 1930. The line was extended to by 25 August 1933 and to its present terminus at on 26 August 1934. As its name implies, the Kihara line was originally intended to connect Ōhara with

Kisarazu is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 136,023 in 63,431 households and a population density of 980 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kisarazu is located in the midwest ...

. However, it was never extended further than Kazusa-Nakano. In 1954, the first JNR diesel railbus, the KiHa 10000, was introduced on the Kihara Line. Four additional stations were added on 20 June 1960 (, , , and ). However, on 4 September 1968 the line was listed as one of 83 money-losing local lines recommended for closure. The line problems were compounded in the summer of 1970, when heavy rains washed out a portion of the track, causing a suspension of operations from 1 July through 1 October. Scheduled freight operations were suspended from 1 October 1974. On 18 September 1981, the line was again recommended for closure. After the breakup and privatization of the JNR on 1 April 1987, the line came under the control of the JR East. The Isumi Line came into being on 24 March 1988 following the transfer of the assets of the former Kihara Line to the newly formed third sector operator Isumi Railway Company. The Isumi Railway has attempted to increase revenues by selling

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...

to stations to local industries, leading to some confusion on the correct station names.

References

External links

* * by Raymond McFinnigan * {{Youtube, KLrRZJLQw8M, The Isumi Railway, driver's cab view by Andrew Wright Railway lines in Japan Railway lines in Chiba Prefecture Railway lines opened in 1930 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Japanese third-sector railway lines Railway companies of Japan