is a railway company in

Shizuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...

, Japan, which first opened in 1927. The company is commonly known as . The company belonged to the

Meitetsu Group The of companies centers on the Nagoya Railroad railway company, which links Nagoya and its suburbs. Many companies in the group are designed to enhance the value of the Meitetsu rail network. In addition to the railroad system, the group includes ...

until 2015, when it was sold to Eclipse Hidaka, a food and hotel company headquartered in

Hidaka, Hokkaido is a town located in Hidaka Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Geography Hidaka Town is divided into two exclaves, which coincide with the former towns of Hidaka and Monbetsu. The town of Biratori lies between the two wards separating them. Hida ...

Operation

The company operates preserved steam locomotives, and has "sister railway" agreements with the

Brienz Rothorn Railway The Brienz Rothorn Railway (, BRB) is a tourist rack railway in Switzerland, which climbs from Brienz, at the eastern end of Lake Brienz, to the summit of the Brienzer Rothorn. The railway is 7.6 kilometres (4.7 mi) long, is built to 800 mm ...

in Switzerland and the

Alishan Forest Railway Alishan Forest Railway ( zh, t=阿里山森林鐵路, p=Ālǐshān Sēnlín Tiělù, poj=A-lí-san Sim-lîm Thih-lō͘) is an 86 km network of Narrow gauge railway, narrow gauge railways running up to and throughout the popular mountain r ...

in Taiwan. Because of its historical rolling stock and the picturesque scenery, the Ōigawa Main Line is often used for shooting films or TV programs, especially those set in the pre-war period, and has been used as a setting in

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

. Ōigawa Railway's locomotives include five characters from the ''

Thomas & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' is a British children's television series which aired from 9 October 1984 to 20 January 2021. Based on ''The Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher Awdry, Christopher, the series was developed for ...

'' series:

Thomas the Tank Engine Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional, anthropomorphised tank locomotive who originated from the British children's books ''The Railway Series'', created and written by Wilbert Awdry with his son Christopher Awdry, Christopher, first publish ...

, Hiro, Percy,

James the Red Engine James the Red Engine is a fictional character from ''the Railway Series'' children's books created by Wilbert Awdry and the television adaptation ''Thomas & Friends''. He is an anthropomorphic tender locomotive, and is the number 5 engine on the ...

, and Rusty. The locomotives are based at Shin-Kanaya Station. Thomas runs between Shin-Kanaya Station and Kawaneonsen-Sasamado Station.

2022 typhoon

In September 2022, the Ōigawa Main Line suffered substantial damage from Tropical Storm Talas. Rail services between Kawane-Onsen Sasamado and Senzu Station were suspended until further notice. Steam locomotives were changed to only operate between Shin-Kanaya and Kawane-Onsen Sasamado. Ōigawa Railway advises customers intending to travel beyond Ieyama Station to the Ikawa Line, towards Senzu and the Sumata Gorge area, to transfer to Kawanehon Town's community buses at Ieyama Station, which provide connections to Senzu Station.

Lines

The company operates two gauge railway lines: * Ōigawa Main Line: Kanaya – Senzu * Ikawa Line: Senzu – Ikawa Both lines function primarily as sightseeing lines. The Ōigawa Main Line is known for its

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...

steam trains, while the Ikawa Line is the only

rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with ...

line in existence in Japan. The company also operates a bus line near Sumatakyō Onsen in the town of Kawanehon.

Stations

Stations of Ōigawa Railway Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

References

External links