The District of Joban Difference between revisions of "Iwate Line"

Difference between revisions of "Iwate Line"

From The District of Joban
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{{InfoBox route|title=Iwate Line|depots=Kawabe Depot|electrification=None|track_gauge=1435mm|line_length=2.4km|technical_category=Technical Details|line_closed=2007 (Daigaku Line)|line_opened=1972|hist_category=History|ridership=126|rolling_stock=E44 Mini|operators=Ome Railway Company|colorline1=c29504|line_type=Rural feeder|service_category=Service details|initials=IWT|station_amount=3|terminus=Iwate
This page consists of the history for both the Iwate Line and Daigaku Line.{{InfoBox route|title=Iwate Line|depots=Kawabe Depot|electrification=None|track_gauge=1435mm|line_length=2.4km|technical_category=Technical Details|line_closed=2007 (Daigaku Line)|line_opened=1972|hist_category=History|ridership=126|rolling_stock=E44 Mini|operators=Ome Railway Company|colorline1=c29504|line_type=Rural feeder|service_category=Service details|initials=IWT|station_amount=3|terminus=Iwate
Kawabe|locale=Iwate Prefecture|owner=Ome Railway Company|status=Operational|general_category=General Information|image=iwateline.png|operate_speed=60km/h}}
Kawabe|locale=Iwate Prefecture|owner=Ome Railway Company|status=Operational|general_category=General Information|image=iwateline.png|operate_speed=60km/h}}



Revision as of 11:30, 24 January 2023

This page consists of the history for both the Iwate Line and Daigaku Line.

Iwate Line
General
Status Operational
Owner Ome Railway Company
Locale Iwate Prefecture
Termini Iwate Kawabe
Stations 3
Initials IWT
Service
Type Rural feeder
Operator(s) Ome Railway Company
Depot(s) Kawabe Depot
Rolling stock E44 Mini
History
Opened 1972
Closed 2007 (Daigaku Line)
Technical
Line Length 2.4km
Track gauge 1435mm
Electrification None
Operating speed 60km/h


The Iwate Line is a railway line that runs from Iwate to Kawabe in Iwate, Sorano. The line was originally a railway line that stretched from Reihoku to Miyama, known as the Daigaku Line (大学線), as it connected the 2 major universities of Lamtsu. (Yokohama University and Reihoku University). The line was constructed by the Lamtsu Development Bank and handed over to the Ome Railway Company.

Stations

All stations are in Iwate Prefecture
Jap. Name Distance Transfers
岩手 Iwate 0.0 Ome Line
流山 Nagaremaya 1.1 Chiba Line
川辺 Kawabe 1.3 Haebaru Ferry Route 1

History

The Daigaku Line was constructed in 1972 to facilitate travel between Miyama University and Reihoku University. To prevent either MCR or HRT from gaining a foothold in the northern areas, the Daigaku Line was handed to the Ome Railway Company at no extra cost.

The line bled serious amounts of money from 2018 onwards, and the line from Yokohama to Iwate was closed in 2007 and renamed the Iwate Line, with the Yokohama suburban portion handed to Harmony Rail Transit (Lamtsu), which later became the link between the Shima Line and Yokohama. Before the opening of the Seiyo Shinkansen, the Third-Sector Haebaru Railway Haebaru Main Line was the only connection from the Fung Yuen Main Line to Lamtsu, which has been closed from Fung Yuen to Ojika with the opening of the Seiyo Shinkansen; and involved a transfer to the Iwate Line at Reihoku. However, parts of the line ran over the permafrost in the snowy glaciers of Kawabe, and the section was declared unsafe in 2007, to be replaced by a ferry service. The ferry is operated by the Haebaru Railway Company, which was privatised in 2016. After that, the Iwate Line was rolled back to Kawabe, and has been there ever since.

There have been negotiations by the Haebaru Railway Company to link the Iwate Line to the Haebaru Main Line, via a new bridge over the old permafrost linking to the Chiba Branch Line, which runs from Ojika to Higashi-Chiba. The new line would remove the need for a ferry to transport valuable raw materials produced by the Haebaru Region, and allow freight trains to travel directly to Lamtsu. The link is also pushed by for the Mishato City, which has a tight economic relationship with Haebaru dating back to the 15th century.