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Tadami Line

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Tadami Line
Tadamigawa Bridge No. 1, November 2020
Overview
Native name只見線
StatusIn operation
OwnerJR East
LocaleFukushima, Niigata Prefectures
Termini
Stations36
Service
TypeHeavy rail
Operator(s) JR East
Rolling stockKiHa 110 series, KiHa E120, AT-350 series, AT-400 series, AT-500 series, AT-600 series, AT-700 series DMU
History
Opened1928
Technical
Line length135.2 km (84.0 mi)
Number of tracksEntire line single tracked
CharacterRural and scenic
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
ElectrificationNone
Operating speed65 km/h (40 mph)
Route map

The Tadami Line (只見線, Tadami-sen) is a 135-kilometre (84 mi) scenic railway line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Aizu-Wakamatsu Station at Aizuwakamatsu in Fukushima Prefecture with Koide Station at Uonuma in Niigata Prefecture.[1]

The line opened in discontinuous stages between 1928 and 1971. Because of trouble financing rainstorm damage repairs, the line had no rail service between Aizu-Kawaguchi and Tadami station from July 2011 until October 2022.[2][3][4] During this time, a replacement bus operated between Aizu-Kawaguchi and Tadami.[5][6] Full service on the line resumed on 1 October 2022.

Services

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Linemap

All trains are local (all-stations) services, with approximately eight to nine trains in each direction per day. Only three round-trips operate over the entire line, and some seasonal trains operate through onto the line from the Ban'etsu West and Jōetsu lines. Due to the many curves on the line trains take over four hours to traverse its 135.2 km (84.0 mi) length.[7]

Station list

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  • All trains stop at every station.
  • Trains can pass each other at stations marked "◇", "∨", "∧"; they cannot pass at those marked "｜".
Station Japanese Distance (km) Transfers   Location
Between
stations 		Total
Aizu-Wakamatsu 会津若松 – 0.0 ■Ban'etsu West Line ∨ Aizuwakamatsu Fukushima
Nanukamachi 七日町 1.3 1.3   ｜
Nishi-Wakamatsu 西若松 1.8 3.1 ■Aizu Railway Aizu Line[* 1] ◇
Aizu-Hongō 会津本郷 3.4 6.5   ｜
Aizu-Takada 会津高田 4.8 11.3   ｜ Aizumisato, Ōnuma District
Negishi 根岸 3.5 14.8   ｜
Niitsuru 新鶴 2.0 16.8   ｜
Wakamiya 若宮 2.1 18.9   ｜ Aizubange, Kawanuma District
Aizu-Bange 会津坂下 2.7 21.6   ◇
Tōdera 塔寺 4.4 26.0   ｜
Aizu-Sakamoto 会津坂本 3.7 29.7   ｜
Aizu-Yanaizu 会津柳津 3.6 33.3   ｜ Yanaizu, Kawanuma District
Gōdo 郷戸 3.6 36.9   ｜
Takiya 滝谷 2.7 39.6   ｜
Aizu-Hinohara 会津桧原 1.9 41.5   ｜ Mishima, Ōnuma District
Aizu-Nishikata 会津西方 2.2 43.7   ｜
Aizu-Miyashita 会津宮下 1.7 45.4   ◇
Hayato 早戸 5.8 51.2   ｜
Aizu-Mizunuma 会津水沼 3.9 55.1   ｜ Kaneyama, Ōnuma District
Aizu-Nakagawa 会津中川 3.2 58.3   ｜
Aizu-Kawaguchi 会津川口 2.5 60.8   ◇
Honna 本名 2.8 63.6   ｜
Aizu-Kosugawa 会津越川 6.4 70.0   ｜
Aizu-Yokota 会津横田 3.2 73.2   ｜
Aizu-Ōshio 会津大塩 2.2 75.4   ｜
Aizu-Shiozawa 会津塩沢 5.5 80.9   ｜ Tadami, Minamiaizu District
Aizu-Gamō 会津蒲生 3.0 83.9   ｜
Tadami 只見 4.5 88.4   ◇
Tagokura 田子仓 6.8 90.7   ◇
Ōshirakawa 大白川 19.5 109.2   ◇ Uonuma Niigata
Kakinoki 柿ノ木 3.2 112.4   ｜
Irihirose 入広瀬 6.4 115.6   ｜
Kamijō 上条 3.1 118.7   ｜
Echigo-Suhara 越後須原 4.4 123.1   ｜
Uonuma-Tanaka 魚沼田中 3.9 127.0   ｜
Echigo-Hirose 越後広瀬 2.5 129.5   ｜
Yabukami 藪神 2.1 131.6   ｜
Koide 小出 3.6 135.2 ■Jōetsu Line ∧
  1. ^ All Aizu Line trains run through to Aizu-Wakamatsu Station.

History

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Openings

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The eastern section of the line from Aizu-Wakamatsu to Aizu-Yanaizu opened in 1928. The eastern section was extended to Aizu-Miyashita in 1941 and to Aizu-Kawaguchi in 1956. At that time, the Tagokura Dam was under construction and a light railway was built to link Aizu-Kawaguchi with the construction site in order to transport construction material. In 1963, after the dam was completed, the construction railway was upgraded and opened to Tadami as part of the eastern section.[5]

In the meantime, the western section of the line, from Koide to Oshirakawa, had opened in 1942. In 1971, the two sections were connected with the opening of the passenger only line between Oshirakawa and Tadami.[5]

Closures

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Freight services ceased between 1980 and 1982.[citation needed]

Damage from heavy rain storms in July 2011 forced the section of the line between Aizu-Kawaguchi and Ōshirakawa to be closed. The section between Tadami and Ōshirakawa was reopened on 1 October 2012, but the restoration of the remaining section between Aizu-Kawaguchi and Tadami proved more problematic.[8] Eventually, JR East reached an agreement with Fukushima Prefecture under which the prefecture would buy the rail infrastructure and land while hiring out its operation to JR East.[9] After 11 years with a replacement bus service, the closed section resumed operations on 1 October 2022.[6]

In 2013, Tagokura Station, between Ōshirakawa and Tadami, was closed.[10] And in 2015, Kakinoki Station, between Irihirose and Ōshirakawa, was also closed.[11] Both of these closures were due to very low usage.

Rolling stock

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Former

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References

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  1. ^ "Tadami Line". Japan Travel Planner. ANA. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  2. ^ "只見線全線運転再開につい て" [Regarding the resumption of operation of the entire Tadami Line] (PDF) (Press release) (in Japanese). East Japan Railway Company. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  3. ^ Kushida, Izumi (1 October 2022). "JR只見線｢11年ぶり｣復活､地元住民たちの執念" [JR Tadami Line reopens after 11 years]. Toyo Keizai Online (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  4. ^ "Scenic Tadami Line reopens after storm damage". Railway Gazette International. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "Tadami Line User Manual" (PDF). Union Workshop. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  6. ^ a b "只見線、2022年10月1日全線運転再開へ" [Tadami Line to resume operation on October 1, 2022]. tetsudo.ch (in Japanese). 18 May 2022. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  7. ^ JR Timetable, December 2010 issue
  8. ^ ＪＲ只見線 全線早期再開は困難 [JR Tadami Line: Early reopening of the entire line difficult]. MSN Sankei News (in Japanese). Japan: The Sankei Shimbun & Sankei Digital. 13 September 2012. Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  9. ^ Aukema, Justin (24 February 2022). "Japan's local rail lines become the latest pandemic victim". Global Voices. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  10. ^ 只見線田子倉駅廃止について [Closure of Tagokura Station on the Tadami Line] (PDF). Press release (in Japanese). Japan: East Japan Railway Company - Sendai Branch. 25 February 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  11. ^ ありがとう、柿ノ木駅 １４日に廃止、市民団体が集い [Thank you, Kakinoki Station, closing on 14th]. Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). Japan: The Mainichi Newspapers. 9 March 2015. Archived from the original on 21 December 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  12. ^ a b "秘境の旅路彩り40年 最後の勇姿 魚沼 只見線キハ40系引退" [Tadami Line KiHa 40 series retired after 40 years] (in Japanese). Niigata Nippo. 14 July 2020. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020.
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