The is a 6.8 km

railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

owned by the

Heisei Chikuhō Railway The is a third-sector operator of four railway lines in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The railway's nickname is ''Heichiku.'' Principal investors Fukuoka Prefecture holds 27.5% of the stock in the railway. The cities of Tagawa, Nōgata, and Yu ...

. The line runs north from

Tagawa 270px, Views of Tagawa-Ita Station and Mount Iidake from Tagawa City Coal Mining Historical Park 270px, Site of Mitsui Tagawa Coal Mine is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 45,389 in 24248 h ...

Kanada Station is a passenger railway station located in the town of Fukuchi, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the third-sector railway operator Heisei Chikuhō Railway. On 1 April 2009, two local onsen operators, Fujiyunosato and Hinōnoyu-O ...

, all within

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...

History

The Itoda Line was built in two parts. The first part was built in 1897 as a branch line by the , a third-sector railway to transport coal from the Chikuhō Coal Mine. It ran north from Gotōji Station (now Tagawa-Gotōji Station) to Miyatoko Station (now Itoda Station). Hōshū Railway was acquired by

Kyushu Railway was a company that built and operated railways in Kyushu, one of four main islands of Japan. Most of its lines came under the control of Japanese Government Railways following nationalization in 1907, and many are now operated by Kyushu Railway ...

in 1901, which was then nationalized in 1907 into

Japanese Government Railways The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national rail transport, railway system directly operated by the until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan Railways Group. Name The English name "Japanese ...

(JGR) under the Railway Nationalization Act. After being nationalized, the line was known as the . In 1927, another third-sector railway company, , built the section between Miyatoko and

. Within the same year, the line was transferred to the , who then changed their name to in 1933. The line was sold in 1943 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to JGR, who operated the entire line as the Itoda Line. With the privatization of the

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 ...

(successor of the JGR) in 1987, the Itoda Line fell under the control of

Kyushu Railway Company The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle (JR Kyushu), Beetle hydrofoil service across th ...

(JR Kyushu). Then, in 1989, the Itoda Line was transferred to the

, along with the Ita Line and Tagawa Line.

Operations

The line is not electrified and is single-tracked for the entire line. There is generally an hourly service in each direction. All trains run as local services and stop at all stations. A few services continue past

on the Ita Line to Nōgata Station.

Stations

All stations are within

References

{{Specified local lines, state=collapsed Railway lines in Japan Rail transport in Fukuoka Prefecture Railway lines opened in 1897 Japanese third-sector railway lines