Minamiaso Railway Takamori Line

Takamori Line

Tateno Bridge

Tateno Bridge with a scenic view
Overview
Native name 高森線
Locale Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
Termini Tateno Station
Takamori Station
Stations 9
Operation
Opened 1928
Operator(s) Minamiaso Railway
Technical
Line length 17.7 km (11.0 mi)
Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)

The Takamori Line (高森線 Takamori-sen) is Japanese railway line in Kumamoto Prefecture, between Tateno Station, Minamiaso, and Takamori Station, Takamori. This is the only railway line Minamiaso Railway (南阿蘇鉄道 Minamiaso Tetsudō, "South Aso Railway") operates. As the company name suggests, the line traverses the south part of Mount Aso caldera. The line has two stations with very long names, namely Minamiaso Mizu-no-Umareru-Sato Hakusui-Kōgen Station and Aso-Shimodajō-Fureai-Onsen Station, the former being the longest in Japan.

Basic data

History

The entire line was opened by the then Japanese Government Railways in 1928.

Freight services ceased in 1984. The third-sector company took over the former JNR line in 1986. The MLIT tested a DMV railbus on the line in November, 2007.

Proposed connection

After the Takachiho line opened in 1972, construction of the 23 km section to Takamori continued until 1975, when flooding in the 6,500 m Takamori tunnel (7 km north of Takamori) resulted in work being suspended. Construction was formally abandoned in 1980.

See also

References

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

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 1/27/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.