Kurobe Gorge Railway
The Kurobe Gorge Railway (黒部峡谷鉄道株式会社 Kurobe Kyōkoku Tetsudō Kabushiki Kaisha), 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 general public.
In 2008 the company operated 27 locomotives, 138 passenger carriages and 322 freight wagons.
History
The Unazuki - Nekomata section opened in 1926, electrified at 600 VDC and was extended to Keyakidaira in 1937.
The passenger service started in 1953.
Equipment
Electric locomotives
- EB class (Nos. 1–3, 5–7): withdrawn from service in 1984.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
- BB class (Nos. 1,2)
Diesel locomotives
- DB class (No. 11): withdrawn 1985
- DD21: withdrawn 1979
- DD22, DD23: DD23 withdrawn 2000
- DD24
Passenger cars
- 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
Freight cars
- 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
Stations
All stations are in Kurobe, Toyama.
| 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 | ● |
●：All trains stop ▲：Some trains stop｜：Only technical stops
See also
References
This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kurobe Gorge Railway. |