The , also known as Konan Tetsudo, is a
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
company that provides transportation services in western
Aomori Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. The company operates two regional railway lines: the
Kōnan Line, which connects
Hirosaki Station in the city of
Hirosaki
is a Cities of Japan, city located in western Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 163,639 in 71,044 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is .
Hirosaki developed as a jōkamachi, ca ...
and
Kuroishi Station in the city of
Kuroishi, and the
Ōwani Line, which connects Hirosaki with
Ōwani Station on the JR
Ōu Main Line
The is a railway line in Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Fukushima Station (Fukushima), Fukushima Station through Akita Station to Aomori Station. Since the opening of the Yamagata Shinkansen on July 1, 1 ...
. The company also operates an extensive bus network. It is headquartered in the city of
Hirakawa.
Between November 1, 1984, and April 1, 1998, the company also operated the
Kuroishi Line, a former line of
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 ...
.
History
The company was founded on March 27, 1926, and began operations between Hirosaki and
Tsugaru-Onoe Station on September 7, 1927. Bus operations began on June 24, 1931, and were divested to a
subsidiary company
A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...
(the forerunner of the
Kōnan Bus Company on April 17, 1940.
On July 1, 1948, the Konan line was electrified at 600 VDC. The line was extended to Kuroishi Station by July 1, 1950.
On July 25, 1949, the was established, and connected
Ōwani Station with
Chuo-Hirosaki Station by January 26, 1952.
Voltage on the line was raised from 600 VDC to 750 VDC on April 1, 1954, and to 1500 VDC on September 1, 1961.
On October 1, 1970, the Hirosaki Electric Railway was acquired by the Kōnan Railway Company, and its line became the Kōnan Railway Ōwani Line.
On November 1, 1984, the former
Japan National Railway
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 ...
Kuroshi Line was
privatized
Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
by the government and acquired by the Kōnan Railway Company, becoming the
Kōnan Railway Kuroishi Line, but was subsequently closed in 1998.
See also
*
List of railway companies in Japan
List of railway companies in Japan lists Japanese railway operators.
Those in ''italics'' are the third-sector operators; being half-public, half-private.
Japan Railways Group
The Japan Railways Group consists of the seven companies that were f ...
References
This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia
* Harris, Ken and Clarke, Jackie. ''Jane's World Railways 2008-2009''. Jane's Information Group (2008).
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konan Railway Company
Companies based in Aomori Prefecture
Railway companies of Japan
Japanese companies established in 1926