The is a

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

line operated by

Toyama Chihō Railway The is a transportation company in Toyama, Toyama, Toyama, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. The company is commonly known as . This private company operates railway, tram, and bus services in the eastern part of the prefecture. It also operates as ...

in the city of

Toyama Toyama may refer to: Places * Toyama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan located in the Hokuriku region on the main Honshu island * Toyama (city), the capital city of Toyama Prefecture * Toyama Station, the main station of Toyama, Toyama * Toyama Sta ...

, the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

Toyama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 993,848 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the ...

. Trams commences at , beneath

Toyama Station is a major railway station in Toyama, Toyama, Toyama, Toyama Prefecture, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and Ainokaze Toyama Railway. It is the largest and busiest terminal station, railway terminal in Toyama. , the loca ...

, and travels north to in a town of the Toyama Port on

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, it ...

. The line is regarded as the first fully converted or constructed "light rail transit" (LRT) in Japan. Whilst other Japanese "LRTs" involve light rail rolling stock operating on original infrastructure, the "Portram" utilises new rolling stock on fully renovated infrastructure. It has an official nickname "Portram'", after "port" (Toyama Port) and "tram".

Description

Also see the route diagram. *Distance: 7.85 km **Toyama-Eki – Okudachūgakkō-mae ***under Tram Act, 1.35 km **Okudachūgakkōmae – Iwasehama ***under Railway Business Act: 6.5 km *Stations: 14 *Track: single **Doubling is planned at a short section of Okudachūgakkō-mae – east of Hatta bridge *

Railway signalling Railway signalling (), or railroad signaling (), is a system used to control the movement of railway traffic. Trains move on fixed rails, making them uniquely susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the enormous weight ...

: automatic *Depot: at Jōgawara

History

The Toyamakō Line was built as a

heavy rail Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas: Rapid transit A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid acceleratio ...

way line by the

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in 1924; it was electrified with 600 V DC overhead catenary. In December 1941, the company transferred the line to , which was renamed to the

in 1943. The line was nationalized in June 1943 by Imperial Japanese Government Railways due to line's importance as a freight and

materiel Materiel or matériel (; ) is supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commerce, commercial supply chain management, supply chain context. Military In a military context, ...

route to the port of Toyama. 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 ...

(JNR) modified the Toyamakō Line's electrification system to 1500 V DC, the last to be altered among JNR lines acquired from private companies. When JNR was privatized in 1987, the line became part of the

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, ...

(JR West) network. During the time JR West operated the Toyamakō Line (which ended on 28 February 2006) it suffered a long period of declining passengers and the resulting reduction in service. The Toyama Light Rail Company, a public-private partnership with the Hokuriku Electric Power Company, Intec, and the municipal and prefectural governments as major shareholders, was set up to own and operate the line. It was modified for

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

services and reopened on April 29, 2006, returning it to service under a Toyama-based company after half a century of outside management. Prior to the line's transfer in 2006, patronage was 1,700 passengers on weekdays and fewer than 750 on weekends. Under Toyama Light Rail ownership, the line proved to be surprisingly successful: 12,750 people rode the line on the first day. By November 9, 2006, one million passengers had used the line. Since March 21, 2020, with the completion of a north south tram link across Toyama Railway Station, Portram services through operate into the Toyama City Tram system.

Services

Approximately six services are operated in each direction per hour in the morning, 4 in the daytime to evening, 2 in the late night. Services typically through operate into the Toyama City Tram system. The fare is JPY 200 for an adult, 100 for a child per ride, reduced to 160 for an adult and 80 for a child when using the

Passca was a rechargeable contactless smart card ticketing system for public transport in Toyama, Japan, introduced by Toyama Light Rail on April 29, 2006 for use on the Toyamakō Line. Just like JR East's Suica or JR West's ICOCA, the card uses RFID ...

, a

smart card A smart card (SC), chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card), is a card used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an Embedded system, embedded integrated circuit (IC) chip. Many smart ...

ticketing system. Citizens of the city of Toyama over 65 years old are entitled to pay JPY 100 per ride in the daytime with the "Silver Passca". "Feeder bus" services are provided at Hasumachi and Jōgawara.

Rolling stock

Nicknamed "Portram", differently coloured 7 formations of TLR0600 type manufactured by

Niigata Transys is a Japanese railway vehicle and equipment manufacturer based in Seirō, Niigata. 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 ...

using

Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, with headquarters in Toronto and Berlin. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. ...

design, engineering, and technology based on the

ADtranz low floor tram The ADtranz low floor tram was introduced in the 1990s as the world's first tram with a completely low floor design. This tram was developed by MAN for the Bremen urban transport system. The prototype, tram number 3801, was first publicly int ...

, were introduced to the line.

Former

72 series The trains were DC electric commuter trains operated by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and served as the basis for the 101 series. The 72 series included the main production batch of 490 vehicles as well as 667 former 63 series cars conver ...

(from 1967 until 1985) * 457/471/475 series (from 1985 until 2006) *

413 series The is a Japanese dual-voltage (1,500 V DC and 20 kV AC 60 Hz) electric multiple unit (EMU) train type first introduced by Japanese National Railways (JNR) in March 1986, and later operated on local services on the Hokuriku Main Line by th ...

(until 2005)

Stations

All stations are in the city of

. For distances and connections, see the route diagram. The

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

of two stations were sold (shown by *), of four which were on sale. *C15 ( 富山駅) *C26 ( オークスカナルパークホテル富山前停留場) *C27 * ( インテック本社前駅) *C28 ( 龍谷富山高校前（永楽町）停留場) *C29 ( 奥田中学校前駅) *C30 ( 下奥井駅) *C31 (Ōsakaya-Shop-mae)* ( 粟島 (大阪屋ショップ前) 駅) *C32 ( 越中中島駅) *C33 ( 城川原駅) *C34 ( 犬島新町) *C35 ( 蓮町（馬場記念公園前）駅) *C36 ( 萩浦小学校前駅) *C37 ( 東岩瀬駅) *C38 ( 競輪場前駅) *C39 ( 岩瀬浜駅)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Toyama Light Rail Toyamako Line Tram lines in Japan Toyama (city) Railway lines opened in 1924 Rail transport in Toyama Prefecture 1067 mm gauge railways in Japan Japanese third-sector railway lines 600 V DC railway electrification