Shimabara Railway Line

The Shimabara Railway Line (島原鉄道線, Shimabara Tetsudō-sen) is a Japanese railway line connecting Isahaya Station, Isahaya and Shimabarakō. The line parallels the coast of Shimabara Peninsula, Nagasaki Prefecture. This is the only railway line of Shimabara Railway, while the company also operates buses and ships. The first section of the line opened in 1911. The former line between Shimabara-Gaikō 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 privately throughout its history.

Shimabara Railway Line
A train on the Shimabara line at Shirahama beach in 2008
Overview
LocaleShimabara Peninsula, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan
TerminiIsahaya
Shimabarakō
Kazusa (until 31 March 2008)
Stations24
Service
Rolling stockKiha 20 type
History
Opened1911
Technical
Line length43.2 km (26.8 mi)
Number of trackssingle
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Route map
Legend
-
↑ Ōmura Line for Haiki
0.0 Isahaya 16 m
0.7 Tunnel
42 m
1.5 Honisahaya
 8 m
2.9 Saiwai
 4 m
3.6
44 m
4.8 Onohonmachi
 5 m
5.5 Kantakunosato
 4 m
7.5 Moriyama
 4 m
9.6 Kamanohana
 3 m
11.4 Isahaya-higashi-kōkōmae
 3 m
11.7
42 m
← old Unzentetsu Line
until 1938
12.4 Aino
 4 m
14.4 Abozaki
 6 m
16.6 Azuma
 6 m
19.6 Kobe
 5 m
20.8 Taishō
 5 m
21.7
29 m
23.0 Saigō
 8 m
Route 57
25.5 Kōjiromachi
 5 m
29.0
41 m
29.4 Tairamachi
Ariake Ferry for Nagasu
 5 m
31.6
26 m
31.8 Shimatetsu-yue
 8 m
Route 57
34.1 Ōmisaki
 5 m
35.2 Matsuomachi
 7 m
37.5 Mie
 6 m
40.5 Shimabara
 4 m
41.5 Shimatetsu-honshamae
 5 m
42.3 Minami-shimabara
 4 m
Route 57
Kyūshū and Kumamoto Ferry for Kumamoto
43.2 Shimabara-gaikō
Shimatetsu Ferry for Miike
 8 m
Route 57
44.3 Chichibu-ga-ura
 12 m
45.4 Antoku
 31 m
45.4
225 m
46.3
68 m
47.5 Seno-fukae
 33 m
49.6 Fukae
 25 m
50.0
23 m
Route 251
52.0 Futsu-shinden
 3 m
53.9 Futsu
 6 m
Route 251
56.9 Dōzaki
 6 m
58.4 Kamaga
 8 m
59.9 Arie
 20 m
60.2
30 m
Route 251
61.2 Nishi-arie
 9 m
63.4 Tatsuishi
 5 m
63.5
20 m
Route 251
65.3 Kita-arie
 5 m
65.5
61 m
66.1 Jōkōjimae
 10 m
67.1 Uratakannon
 6 m
68.2 Harajō
 5 m
70.6 Arimayoshikawa
 8 m
73.5
272 m
74.6 Higashi-ōya
 7 m
75.8 Kuchinotsu
Shimatetsu Ferry for Oniike
 3 m
Route 251
76.8 Shirahama-kaisui-yokujōmae
 11 m
78.5 Kazusa
 7 m

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 Shimabara-gaiko and Fukae, and services did not resume on that section until 1997.

The Shimabara-gaiko – Kazusa section was closed on 1 April 2008 owing to declining patronage.

Stations
Shimatetsu Kiha 2500 Series train.
●：Always stops   ▲：Sometimes stops  ｜：Does not stop
Station Japanese Distance
(km)		 Express
Stops		 Connecting lines Location
Isahaya 諫早 0.0 ● JR Kyushu: Nagasaki Main Line, Ōmura Line Isahaya Nagasaki
Prefecture
Hon-Isahaya 本諫早 1.5 ●
Saiwai 幸 2.9 ▲
Ono 小野 4.8 ▲
Kantakunosato 干拓の里 5.5 ▲
Moriyama 森山 7.5 ▲
Kamanohana 釜ノ鼻 9.6 ▲
Isahaya-higashi-kōkō 諫早東高校 11.4 ▲
Aino 愛野 12.4 ● Unzen
Abozaki 阿母崎 14.4 ｜
Azuma 吾妻 16.6 ●
Kobe 古部 19.6 ｜
Taishō 大正 20.8 ｜
Saigō 西郷 23.0 ●
Kōjiro 神代 25.5 ●
Taira 多比良 29.4 ●
Ariake-Yue 有明湯江 31.8 ｜ Shimabara
Ōmisaki 大三東 34.1 ●
Matsuo 松尾 35.2 ｜
Mie 三会 37.5 ｜
Shimabara 島原 40.5 ●
Reikyūkōen-Taiikukan 霊丘公園体育館 41.5 ●
Shimabara-Funatsu 島原船津 42.3 ●
Shimabarakō 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

References

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

    • Route diagram: にっぽん列島 - 鉄道紀元. 27. JTB Publishing Inc. May 10, 2007. pp. 16–17.


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