Toyohashi Railroad Atsumi Line

The Toyohashi Railroad Atsumi Line (豊橋鉄道渥美線, Toyohashi Tetsudō Atsumi-sen) is a railway line in eastern Aichi Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Toyohashi Railroad ("Toyotetsu"). The line runs from the centre of Toyohashi, traversing the centre of the Atsumi Peninsula, a largely rural district noted also for its hot spring resorts and marine sports as part of Mikawa Wan Quasi-National Park. The line is entirely within the cities of Toyohashi and Tahara.

Toyohashi Railroad Atsumi Line
A 1800 series EMU at Toshima Station in February 2007
Overview
Native name豊橋鉄道渥美線
LocaleAichi Prefecture
Termini
Stations16
Websitewww.toyotetsu.com
Service
TypeHeavy rail
Operator(s)Toyohashi Railroad
Rolling stock1800 series EMUs
History
OpenedJanuary 22, 1924 (1924-January-22)
Technical
Line length18.0 km (11.2 mi)
Number of trackssingle
Track gauge3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Electrification1,500 V DC overhead
Operating speed70 km/h (45 mph)
Train protection systemATS-PT (compatible with Meitetsu)
Route map

Up arrowIida Line to Iida
Toyohashi Station
0.0
Shin-Toyohashi (新豊橋)
1.0
Yagyu-bashi (柳生橋)
Yagyu River
1.7
Koike (小池)
National Route 259
2.5
Aichidaigakumae (愛知大学前)
3.2
Minami-Sakae (南栄)
4.3
Takashi (高師)
5.3
Ashihara (芦原)
Umeda River
Nishino River
6.3
Ueta (植田)
7.1
Mukougaoka (向ヶ丘)
National Route 23
8.5
Ōshimizu (大清水)
10.7
Oitsu (老津)
Kamita River
12.7
Sugiyama (杉山)
14.0
Yagumadai (やぐま台)
Shijimi River
15.6
Toshima (豊島)
17.1
Kambe (神戸)
Shio River
18.0
Mikawa Tahara (三河田原)

Operation

edit

The northern terminal station for the Atsumi Line is located at Shin-Toyohashi Station. All trains run to the southern terminus at Mikawa Tahara Station at approximately 15 minute intervals. There are no express trains on the line.

History

edit

The privately owned Atsumi Electric Railway (渥美電鉄, Atsumi Dentetsu) began operations on January 22, 1924 between Takashi and Toshima, electrified at 600 V DC. The line was extended to Kambe in March and to Mikawa Tahara by June 10 of the same year. In the opposite direction, the line was extended to Shin-Toyohashi by May 1925. On April 10, 1926, the now-defunct section of track from Mikawa Tahara to Kurokawahara was completed. Construction of a proposed extension to Fukue commenced in 1940, but was later abandoned due to material shortages in World War II.

On September 1, 1940, the Atsumi Electric Railway was merged into Nagoya Railway. Most of the stations on the line were closed on June 5, 1944, as an austerity measure. On October 1, 1954, the Toyohashi Railway was spun out from the Nagoya Railway as an independently operating subsidiary. Most of the closed stations were reopened by this time, but the section from Mikawa Tahara to Kurokawahara was closed permanently. Express train operations began from October 1, 1965.

All freight operations were discontinued from February 1, 1984 and express train operations were discontinued from September 1, 1985. On July 2, 1997 the electrification system was upgraded to 1,500 V DC.

Rolling stock

edit
 
1800 series set 1808 in 2014

As of April 2015, the line is operated using a fleet of ten three-car 1800 series electric multiple unit (EMU) trains.[1] These trains were modified from former Tokyu 7200 series EMUs.[2] All trains are configured for one-man operation.

Since 2013, the trains are each painted a different colour and carry the names of flowers, as follows.[2]

Set No. Flower name Colour
1801 Rose (ばら, Bara)   Red
1802 Hibiscus (はまぼう, Hamabou)   Brown
1803 Rhododendron (つつじ, Tsutsuji)   Red
1804 Sunflower (ひまわり, Himawari)   Blue
1805 Sweet flag (菖蒲, Shoubu)   Purple
1806 Magnolia (しでこぶし, Shidekobushi)   Light green
1807 Rape blossom (菜の花, Nanohana)   Yellow
1808 Camellia (椿, Tsubaki)   Green
1809 Cherry blossom (, Sakura)   Pink
1810 Chrysanthemum (, Kiku)   Orange

Station list

edit
No. Station name Japanese Distance from
Shin-Toyohashi
(km)
Transfers Location
City Prefecture
1 Shin-Toyohashi 新豊橋 0.0   JR Central (Toyohashi Station)
  Tokaido Shinkansen,   Tokaido Main Line,   Iida Line

  Meitetsu (Toyohashi Station)

Nagoya Main Line

  Toyohashi Railroad (Ekimae Station)

Azumada Main Line
Toyohashi Aichi
2 Yagyu-bashi 柳生橋 1.0
3 Koike 小池 1.7
4 Aichidaigakumae 愛知大学前 2.5
5 Minami-Sakae 南栄 3.2
6 Takashi 高師 4.3
7 Ashihara 芦原 5.3
8 Ueta 植田 6.3
9 Mukougaoka 向ヶ丘 7.1
10 Ōshimizu 大清水 8.5
11 Oitsu 老津 10.7
12 Sugiyama 杉山 12.7
13 Yagumadai やぐま台 14.0 Tahara
14 Toshima 豊島 15.6
15 Kambe 神戸 17.1
16 Mikawa Tahara 三河田原 18.0

See also

edit

References

edit

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

  1. ^ 私鉄車両編成表 2015 [Private Railway Rolling Stock Formations - 2015] (in Japanese). Japan: Kotsu Shimbunsha. 23 July 2015. p. 92. ISBN 978-4-330-58415-7.
  2. ^ a b Terada, Hirokazu (January 2016). 日本のローカル私鉄 30年前の残照を訪ねて その26 [Japan's rural private railways: Revisiting the afterglow of 30 years ago (Part 26)]. Japan Railfan Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 56, no. 657. Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. pp. 112–117.