Furusato Ginga Line

Furusato Ginga Line
Furusato Ginga Line CR70 series DMU February 2006, near Nishitomi Station
Overview
Status	Ceased operation
Locale	Hokkaidō, Japan
Termini	Ikeda Kitami
Stations	33
Service
Type	Heavy rail
System	Hokkaidō Chihoku Kōgen Railway
History
Opened	September 22, 1910
Closed	April 21, 2006
Technical
Line length	140.0 km (87.0 mi)
Number of tracks	Single
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	Not electrified

show v t Furusato Ginga Line
Legend
km Nemuro Main Line Ikeda 5.7 11.5 16.5 20.8 23.5 27.3 29.8 36.2 44.6 50.7 54.0 55.9 58.4 62.2 66.5 70.7 77.4 83.1 87.2 93.5 Senpoku temporary stop closed 1957 109.4 113.8 116.6 118.4 121.4 123.5 125.3 127.4 129.4 132.2 135.5 Kitami Sekihoku Main Line km

The Furusato Ginga Line (ふるさと銀河線, Furusato Ginga-sen) was a railway line most recently operated by Hokkaidō Chihoku Kōgen Railway Company in Hokkaidō, Japan. The 140 kilometres (87 mi) line connected the municipalities of Ikeda and Kitami until its closure in 2006.

History[]

The first segment of the line, originally called the Abashiri Line (網走線, Abashiri-sen) and operated by Japanese Government Railways, was opened on September 22, 1910, and ran for 77.4 km, connecting Ikeda and Rikunbetsu (later renamed to Rikubetsu). The line was then extended further north, and on September 25, 1911, the segment connecting Rikunbetsu and Nokkeushi (present-day Kitami) was opened. In 1912 the Abashiri Line was further extended to Abashiri, and the line was renamed the Abashiri Main Line (網走本線, Abashiri-honsen).^[1]

Once the Sekihoku Line was extended to Nokkeushi in 1932, traffic largely shifted to the shorter Sekihoku Line. On April 1, 1961, the section of the Abashiri Main Line from Ikeda to Kitami (renamed from Nokkeushi in 1942) was named the Chihoku Line (池北線, Chihoku-sen), and the rest of the Abashiri Main Line was absorbed into the Sekihoku Main Line. The name "Chihoku Line" was created from the on'yomi of each of the first characters for Ikeda (池田) and Kitami (北見).^[1]

In 1987 Japanese National Railways (JNR), the successor to Japanese Government Railways, was privatized and JR Hokkaido took over management of the line. However, on June 4, 1989, JR Hokkaido ceased operation of the Chihoku Line. Unlike all other lines shut down by JNR and JR Hokkaido, in the Chihoku Line's case a successor company was established by local governments and private investors. The new company, Hokkaidō Chihoku Kōgen Railway Company, renamed the Chihoku Line to the Furusato Ginga Line ("Hometown Galaxy Line") and introduced new cars. However 17 years later, the company came to the decision to close the line, which thus ceased operations on April 21, 2006.^[2]

Stations[]

References[]

External links[]

Media related to Hokkaidō Chihoku Kōgen Railway at Wikimedia Commons