Shimabara Railway Line

Template:Short description The is a Japanese railway line connecting Isahaya Station, Isahaya and Shimabarakō. The line parallels the coast of Shimabara Peninsula, Nagasaki Prefecture. The third-sector railway company Shimabara Railway owns the line and also operates buses and ships. The first section of the line opened in 1911. The former line between Shimabarakō and Kazusa had few passengers and closed on 1 April 2008. The line uses the older diesel-powered KiHa 20-type train which was developed in the mid-1950s. Because of the line's vintage trains which maintain the old Japanese National Railways colors of red and beige, it remains popular among train enthusiasts. This is the only railway on Kyushu outside the Fukuoka area that has remained private throughout its history.

History

The Shimabara Railway Co. opened the Isahaya – Aino section in 1911, extending the line to Kojiromachi in 1912 and Minami-Shimabara the following year.

The Kuchinotsu Railway Co. opened the Minami-Shimabara – Dozaki section in 1922, extending the line to Harajo in 1926 and Kazusa two years later.

Diesel power was introduced by the Kuchinotsu Railway Co. in 1930, and by the Shimabara Railway Co. in 1934. In 1943 the two companies merged under the name Shimabara Railway Co.

In 1958 direct services to/from Nagasaki were introduced, operating until 1980.

Former connecting lines

• The Hizen Obama Railway Co. opened a 17 km line from Aino station to Unzen Obama between 1923 and 1927. Direct services from the Shimabara line operated from 1927 until 1932. The line closed in 1938.

Volcanic disruptions

Services were disrupted for six months in 1991 owing to lava flows from Mount Unzen, which also caused a one-month service disruption the following year.

In 1993 a major lava flow forced the closure of the line between Shimabarakō and Fukae, and services did not resume on that section until 1997.

The Shimabarakō – Kazusa section was closed on 1 April 2008 owing to declining patronage.

Stations

File:Shimatetsu Kiha 2500.jpg

Shimatetsu Kiha 2500 Series train.

●：Always stops   ▲：Sometimes stops  ｜：Does not stop

Station	Japanese	Distance (km)	Express Stops	Connecting lines	Location
Template:STN	諫早	0.0	●	JR Kyushu: Nagasaki Main Line, Ōmura Line	Isahaya	Nagasaki Prefecture
Template:STN	本諫早	1.5	●
Template:STN	幸	2.9	▲
Template:STN	小野	4.8	▲
Template:STN	干拓の里	5.5	▲
Template:STN	森山	7.5	▲
Template:STN	釜ノ鼻	9.6	▲
Template:STN	諫早東高校	11.4	▲
Template:STN	愛野	12.4	●		Unzen
Template:STN	阿母崎	14.4	｜
Template:STN	吾妻	16.6	●
Template:STN	古部	19.6	｜
Template:STN	大正	20.8	｜
Template:STN	西郷	23.0	●
Template:STN	神代	25.5	●
Template:STN	多比良	29.4	●
Template:STN	有明湯江	31.8	｜		Shimabara
Template:STN	大三東	34.1	●
Template:STN	松尾	35.2	｜
Template:STN	三会	37.5	｜
Template:STN	島原	40.5	●
Template:STN	霊丘公園体育館	41.5	●
Template:STN	島原船津	42.3	●
Template:STN	島原港	43.2	●
Shimabara-gaikō (now Shimabarakō) – Kazusa: Discontinued on April 1, 2008
Chichibu-ga-ura	秩父が浦	44.3			Shimabara	Nagasaki Prefecture
Antoku	安徳	45.4
Seno-fukae	瀬野深江	47.5			Minamishimabara
Fukae	深江	49.6
Futsu-shinden	布津新田	52.0
Futsu	布津	53.9
Dōzaki	堂崎	56.9
Kamaga	蒲河	58.4
Arie	有家	59.9
Nishi-arie	西有家	61.2
Tatsuishi	龍石	63.4
Kitaarima	北有家	65.3
Jōkōjimae	常光寺前	66.1
Uradakannon	浦田観音	67.1
Harajō	原城	68.2
Arimayoshikawa	有馬吉川	70.6
Higashi-ōya	東大屋	74.6
Kuchinotsu	口之津	75.8
Shirahama-kaisuiyokujōmae	白浜海水浴場前	76.8
Kazusa	加津佐	78.5

See also

• List of railway companies in Japan
• List of railway lines in Japan

References

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

• Route diagram:

External links

• Template:In lang Shimatetsu official website

Template:Japan-rail-line-stub