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Kurobe Gorge Railway

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Kurobe Gorge Railway
Native name
黒部峡谷鉄道株式会社
Kurobe Kyōkoku Tetsudō Kabushiki gaisha
Company typePublic-private KK
IndustryTransportation
Founded4 May 1971
WebsiteOfficial website

The Kurobe Gorge Railway (黒部峡谷鉄道株式会社, Kurobe Kyōkoku Tetsudō Kabushiki gaisha), or Kurotetsu (黒鉄) for short, is a private, 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow gauge railway company operating the Kurobe Gorge Main Line along the Kurobe River in the Kurobe gorge area of Toyama Prefecture, Japan. The railway was built to serve the construction of the Kurobe dam for the Kansai Electric Power Company, which was completed in 1963; Kurotetsu was spun off from the power company in June 1971, but remains a wholly owned subsidiary. At its terminus, the Main Line links to Kurobe Senyō Railway, which is not open to the general public.

As of 2006, the company operated 25 locomotives, 139 passenger carriages and 204 freight wagons.[1]

History

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The Unazuki - Nekomata section opened in 1926, electrified at 600 VDC and was extended to Keyakidaira in 1937.

The passenger service started in 1953.

Maintenance and technical details

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As of 2023, there are three employees qualified to do track inspections. These inspections are done monthly, workers walking on foot for 7 kilometers stretches to visually inspect that segment of the track, taking around 3 hours. Any variance between the rails of over 6mm requires repair. Due to the large number of curves (well over 200) along the 20 kilometer route, sections of 10 meter rails are used instead of longer ones as would be used on a typical railroad. The shorter sections of track therefore have more joints (and more locations for issues to occur), requiring detailed inspections, with a particular attention paid to these joints. At peak times there are 5 trains an hour running on the line; inspections are done when the trains are running, increasing the safety risks for these inspections. [2]

Stations

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All stations are in Kurobe, Toyama.

Due to a bridge collapse during the 2024 Noto earthquake, all stations past Nekomata are closed as of November 2024.[3] Trains operate as a round-trip between Unazuki and Nekomata, with passengers being able to temporarily alight at the Nekomata terminus.[4][5]

Key

●: Served by passenger trains
▲: Served by passenger trains only during April–May
★: Temporarily served by passenger trains (typically closed to passengers)
｜: Closed to passengers

Name Japanese Distance Train stop
Unazuki 宇奈月 0.0 ●
Yanagibashi 柳橋 2.1 ｜
Moriishi 森石 5.1 ｜
Kuronagi 黒薙 6.5 ●
Sasadaira 笹平 7.0 ▲
Dashidaira 出平 9.1 ｜
Nekomata 猫又 11.8 ★
Kanetsuri 鐘釣 14.3 ●
Koyadaira 小屋平 17.5 ｜
Keyakidaira 欅平 20.1 ●

Equipment

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No. 29

Electric locomotives

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  • EB class (Nos. 1–3, 5–7): withdrawn from service in 1984.
  • ED class (Nos. 8–11): 9–11 survive.
  • EDS class (Nos. 13, 15–17): No. 13 survives.
  • EDM class (Nos. 22, 23, 30–32)
  • EDR class (Nos. 17–21, 24–29, 33)
  • EHR class (Nos. 101, 102)

Battery electric locomotives

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  • BB class (Nos. 1, 2)

Diesel locomotives

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  • DB class (No. 11): withdrawn 1985
  • DD21: withdrawn 1979
  • DD22, DD23: DD23 withdrawn 2000
  • DD24

Passenger cars

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  • Ha (ハ) class: 2-axle open car.
  • 1000 class: open car
  • 2000 class: heated car with fixed, widthwise seats, extra charge to ride
  • 2500 class: heated car with reversible seats so that passengers can always ride facing forward, extra charge to ride
  • 2800 class: lounge car, heated, reversible seats, extra charge to ride
  • 3000 class: panoramic observation car, extra charge to ride

The cars are manufactured by Alna Koki. The 2000 class cars have drivers cabs at their front end.

Freight cars

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Freight cars of the Kurobe Gorge Railway
  • wa (ワ) class (boxcar)
  • oshi (オシ) class depressed center flatcar
  • muchi (ムチ) class flatcar
  • nachi (ナチ) class flatcar
  • ochi (オチ) class flatcar
  • oto (オト) class gondola
  • to (ト) class gondola
  • chi (チ) class flatcar
  • shi (シ) class depressed center flatcar

See also

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References

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This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia

  1. ^ Bushell, Chris, ed. (2006). Railway Directory 2006 (111th ed.). Reed Business Information. p. 122. ISBN 0-617-01031-5.
  2. ^ Toyama Prefecture Special-Lunch ON! (tv program). NHK World. 2023. Event occurs at 15:22. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  3. ^ Sato, Michiyo (2024-05-14). "Partial services start at quake-hit trolley line in Kurobe Gorge". The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
  4. ^ "Route Guide and information". Kurobe Gorge Railway. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
  5. ^ "Timetable and Fares". Kurobe Gorge Railway. Retrieved 2024-11-19.
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