Loading AI tools
Railway line in Hokkaido, Japan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Hidaka Main Line (日高本線, Hidaka-honsen) is a railway line in Hokkaido, Japan, operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), between Tomakomai Station in Tomakomai and Samani Station in Samani, running along the coast of Hidaka Subprefecture. Services on the 116.0 km (72.1 mi) section of the line beyond Mukawa Station were suspended indefinitely since January 2015 due to storm damage. This section was closed on 1 April 2021 and replaced by a bus service. The closure of this section made the line the second shortest in Japan to be classified as a 'main line', at just 30.5 km (19.0 mi), after the Rumoi Main Line's length of 14.4 km (8.9 mi).
Hidaka Main Line | |||
---|---|---|---|
![]() A local train on the Hidaka Main Line between Okaribe and Seppu in October 2011 | |||
Overview | |||
Native name | 日高本線 | ||
Status | Operational (As a railway between Tomakomai and Mukawa) (As a bus route between Mukawa and Samani) | ||
Owner | JR Hokkaido | ||
Locale | Hokkaido | ||
Termini | |||
Stations | 29 (until January 2015) 5 (after January 2015) 4 (after March 2023) | ||
Service | |||
Type | Heavy rail | ||
Operator(s) | JR Hokkaido | ||
Rolling stock | KiHa 40 series DMU, Bus | ||
History | |||
Opened | October 1913 | ||
Closed | 1 April 2021 (section between Mukawa and Samani was replaced by a bus service in January 2015 but only formally closed as a railway on 1 April 2021) | ||
Technical | |||
Line length | 146.5 km (91.0 mi) (until January 2015) 30.5 km (19.0 mi) (after January 2015) | ||
Number of tracks | Entire line single tracked | ||
Character | Rural | ||
Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | ||
Old gauge | 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) | ||
Electrification | None | ||
Operating speed | 95 km/h (59 mph) | ||
|
All regular trains are local trains, which stop at all stations.
Station | Distance (km) |
Transfers | Location | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
H18 | Tomakomai | 苫小牧 | 0.0 | ■ Muroran Main Line ■ Chitose Line |
Tomakomai |
Yūfutsu | 勇払 | 13.1 | |||
Hama-Atsuma | 浜厚真 | 22.7 | Atsuma, Yūfutsu District | ||
Hama-Taura | 浜田浦 | 27.0 | Mukawa, Yūfutsu District | ||
Mukawa | 鵡川 | 30.5 | |||
Shiomi | 汐見 | 34.5 | |||
Tomikawa | 富川 | 43.6 | Hidaka, Saru District | ||
Hidaka-Mombetsu | 日高門別 | 51.3 | |||
Toyosato | 豊郷 | 56.3 | |||
Kiyohata | 清畠 | 61.1 | |||
Atsuga | 厚賀 | 65.6 | |||
Ōkaribe | 大狩部 | 71.1 | Niikappu, Niikappu District | ||
Seppu | 節婦 | 73.1 | |||
Niikappu | 新冠 | 77.2 | |||
Shizunai | 静内 | 82.1 | Shinhidaka, Hidaka District | ||
Higashi-Shizunai | 東静内 | 90.9 | |||
Harutachi | 春立 | 97.0 | |||
Hidaka-Tōbetsu | 日高東別 | 99.4 | |||
Hidaka-Mitsuishi | 日高三石 | 105.8 | |||
Hōei | 蓬栄 | 109.8 | |||
Honkiri | 本桐 | 113.0 | |||
Ogifushi | 荻伏 | 120.2 | Urakawa, Urakawa District | ||
Efue | 絵笛 | 125.1 | |||
Urakawa | 浦河 | 130.3 | |||
Higashichō | 東町 | 132.4 | |||
Hidaka-Horobetsu | 日高幌別 | 136.9 | |||
Utoma | 鵜苫 | 141.1 | Samani, Samani District | ||
Nishi-Samani | 西様似 | 143.6 | |||
Samani | 様似 | 146.5 |
The first section was opened in October 1913 by the Tomakomai Light Railway (苫小牧軽便鉄道, Tomakomai Keiben Tetsudō), operating between Tomakomai and Sarufuto (佐瑠太) (present-day Tomikawa).[1] The section between Sarufuto and Shizunai was operated by the Hidaka Takushoku Railway (日高拓殖鉄道, Hidaka Takushoku Tetsudō). Both lines were light railways with a track gauge of 762 mm (2 ft 6 in).[2]
The lines were nationalized on 1 August 1927, and merged into one, becoming the Hidaka Line.[2] The track gauge was widened to 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) between Tomakomai and Sarufuto on 26 November 1929, and between Sarafuto and Shizunai on 10 November 1931.[2] The line was extended from Shizunai to Hidaka-Mitsuishi on 15 December 1933, to Urakawa on 24 October 1935, and to Samani on 10 August 1937.[2]
With the privatization of JNR on 1 April 1987, the line came under the control of JR Hokkaido.[2]
Following storm damage between Atsuga and Ōkaribe stations on 8 January 2015,[3] rail services had been suspended on the 116.0 km (72.1 mi) section beyond Mukawa station, with buses providing a substitute service. Further damage was caused to the line by Typhoon 17 on 12 September 2015, and no date had been set for the resumption of rail services beyond Mukawa. In December 2016, JR Hokkaido announced that it had abandoned plans to reopen the suspended section of the line, and was in discussion with the local governments involved.[1]
Due to low ridership and very high repair costs, including coastal defences between Atsuga and Ōkaribe, JR Hokkaido held several meetings with the 7 towns along the suspended segment of the line, suggesting to abandon plans to restore the line and replace it with a bus service. In November 2019, 6 out of the 7 towns agreed to replace the damaged section with a bus service. However, the town of Urakawa still strongly requested for the whole line to be restored; Urakawa's mayor reasoned that it would still take a while for the 'developing' Hidaka Expressway to reach the town, therefore it being necessary to retain the rail service.
In September 2020, after 5 years of meetings and discussions, many of which involved extensive arguments and disagreements, all 7 towns eventually agreed with JR Hokkaido to abandon the line's damaged section and replace it with a bus service. The 116.0 km (72.1 mi) section was formally closed on 1 April 2021.[4]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.