Ichibata Electric Railway
Ichibata Electric Railway Co., Ltd. is the name of two related, yet different companies in Shimane Prefecture, Japan. Ichibata Denki Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha (一畑電気鉄道株式会社) was a railway operator until 2006, when it became a holding company of the Ichibata Group, spinning off its railway division to the newly founded Ichibata Densha Kabushiki-gaisha (一畑電車株式会社). Although the two have different names in Japanese, their official English names are identical.
History
Kita Matsue Line
The Ichibata Light Railway opened the Dentetsu Izumo-shi to Unshuhirata section in 1914, and extended the line to Ichibata the following year. The line was electrified in 1927 at 1,500 V DC, and extended to Matsue Shinji-ko Onsen (33.9 km from Dentetsu Izumo-shi) the following year. CTC signalling was commissioned in 1966, and freight services ceased in 1973. Dentetsu Izumo-shi Station is adjacent to Izumo-shi Station on the Sanin Main Line owned by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Part of the Kita Matsue Line is adjacent to Lake Shinji.
Taisha Line
The 8.3 km line from Kawato Station (on the Kita Matsue Line) to Izumo Taisha-mae opened in 1930, electrified at 1,500 V DC. CTC signalling was commissioned in 1966. Izumo Taisha is an important Shinto shrine.
Former connecting lines
- Dentetsu Izumo-shi Station: On the northern side of the station, the 8 km Taisha Line opened in 1912, terminating on the opposite bank of the Ogamogawa to the Ichibata Electric Railway Taisha line. Freight services ceased in 1974, and the line closed in 1990. On the southern side, the Taisha Miyajima Railway proposed to build a 92 km line to Hiroshima. The 19 km line to Izumo Susa opened in 1932, and the planned extension was formally abandoned in 1938. The line closed in 1965 as a result of flood damage.
See also
- Railways (2010 film), a 2010 Japanese film set on the Ichibata Railway
References
This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia
External links
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- Ichibata Electric Railway (The holding company) (Japanese)
- Ichibata Electric Railway (The railway company) (Japanese)