Hitahikosan Line

The Hitahikosan Line (日田彦山線, Hitahikosan-sen) is a railway line in Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Jōno Station in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture with Yoake Station in Hita, Ōita Prefecture and features the 4380 m Shakadake Tunnel between Chikuzen Iwaya and Hikosan station, where a fatal tunnel collapse occurred during construction in 1953, killing 21 construction workers. The line is named after Hita and Mount Hiko.

Hitahikosan Line
Overview
Native name	日田彦山線
Status	In operation (as a railway between Jōno and Soeda) (as a bus route between Soeda and Yoake)
Owner	JR Kyushu
Locale	Kyushu
Termini	Jōno Yoake
Stations	23
Service
Type	Regional rail
Operator(s)	JR Kyushu
Rolling stock	KiHa 40 series DMU
History
Opened	1899
Technical
Line length	68.7 km (42.7 mi)
Number of tracks	Entire line single tracked
Character	Mostly rural with a few urban areas
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None
Operating speed	85 km/h (53 mph)
Route map Hitahikosan Line

Stations

●: Stops, ｜: non-stop

No.	Station		Distance (km)	Rapid	Transfers	Location
JF Nippō Main Line
JI  01	Kokura	小倉				Kokurakita-Ward, Kitakyūshū
JI  02	Nishi-Kokura	西小倉
JI  03	Minami-Kokura	南小倉
JI Hitahikosan Line
JI  04	Jōno	城野	0.0	●	Nippō Main Line	Kokuraminami-Ward, Kitakyūshū	Fukuoka Prefecture
JI  05	Ishida	石田	3.3	｜
JI  06	Shii-Kōen	志井公園	5.1	｜	Kitakyushu Monorail (Kikugaoka Station) - 400 m away
JI  07	Shii	志井	6.8	｜
JI  08	Ishiharamachi	石原町	9.0	●
JI  09	Yobuno	呼野	12.3	｜
JI  10	Saidōsho	採銅所	18.1	｜		Kawara
JI  11	Kawara	香春	23.4	●
JI  12	Ipponmatsu	一本松	25.0	｜
JI  13	Tagawa-Ita	田川伊田	27.4	●	Heisei Chikuhō Railway Ita Line, Tagawa Line	Tagawa
JI  14	Tagawa-Gotōji	田川後藤寺	30.0	●	Gotōji Line Heisei Chikuhō Railway Itoda Line
	Ikejiri	池尻	32.2	｜		Kawasaki
	Buzen-Kawasaki	豊前川崎	34.7	●
	Nishi-Soeda	西添田	38.3	｜		Soeda
	Soeda	添田	39.5	●
	Kanyūsha-Hikosan	歓遊舎ひこさん	41.6
	Buzen-Masuda	豊前桝田	43.2
	Hikosan	彦山	47.2
	Chikuzen-Iwaya	筑前岩屋	55.1			Tōhō
	Daigyōji	大行司	59.3
	Hōshuyama	宝珠山	61.3
	Ōtsuru	大鶴	62.9			Hita	Ōita Prefecture
	Imayama	今山	65.4
	Yoake	夜明	68.7		Kyūdai Main Line

History

On 1 April 1960, the Hitahikosan Line was formed by a merger of the following lines:^[1]

• Main line
  • Jōno – Kawara and Soeda – Yoake sections of the Hita Line (the remaining Kawara – Soeda section became the Soeda Line)
  • Kawara – Ita branch of the Hita Line
  • Ita – Soeda section of the Tagawa Line (the Yukuhashi – Kawara section remained as the Tagawa Line)
• Branches
  • Ishida – Higashi-Kokura freight branch of the Hita Line
  • Buszen-Kawasaki – Daiichi-Ōtō freight branch of the Tagawa Line
  • Buszen-Kawasaki – Daini-Ōtō freight branch of the Tagawa Line

All the branches were abolished in 1962, 1974 and 1970 respectively.^[1] In 1987, the Japanese National Railways was privatized and the line was succeeded by JR Kyushu.

Construction

The Hōshū Railway opened the Tagawa-Ita - Buzen Kawasaki section as part of the Tagawa Line in 1899. That company merged with the Kyushu Railway Company in 1901, which extended the line to Soeda in 1903. The company was nationalised in 1907.

The Jono - Tagawa-Ita section was opened in 1915 by the Kokura Railway Co., that company being nationalised in 1943. The Soeda - Daigyoji section opened between 1937 and 1946, and the Daigyoji - Yoake section opened in 1956.

CTC signalling was introduced on the entire line in 1984. Freight service ceased beyond Tagawa-Gotōji in 1986, and totally in 1999.

Typhoon damage

On 5 July 2017, torrential rainfall resulted in the closure of the section of the line between Soeda and Yoake. The damage was severe and included the destruction of several bridges and parts of the track being washed away. The line remained disconnected as of the start of 2020. On 12 February 2020, it was proposed by JR Kyushu to not restore the rail service, due to low passenger use and high maintenance costs, and permanently replace it with bus rapid transit (BRT).^[2] JR Kyushu has formally announced that agreements have been made with local authorities, and the line will be replaced with BRT.^[3] The BRT route is estimated to be completed by 2023. On 25 April 2023, the opening date for the BRT replacement was revised to take place on 28 August of that year.^[4]

Former connecting lines

Buzen Kawasaki Station: The 26 km Kamiyamada Line opened from Iizuka (on the Chikuho Main Line) to Shimoyamada in 1898, extended to Kamiyamada in 1929 and to Buzen Kawasaki (as a passenger-only section) in 1966. Freight services ceased in 1980, and the line closed in 1988. This line had two connections:

• A 2 km 3 ft (914 mm) gauge line from Okuma (16 km from Buzen Kawasaki) - Okumamachi operated between 1924 and 1933.
• The 8 km Urushio line from Shimokamoo (14 km from Buzen Kawasaki) - Shimayamada (connecting to the Gotoji Line) opened in 1943, and closed in 1986.

Soeda station - The Kokura Railway Co. opened a line to Ipponmatsu in 1915. The line was nationalised in 1943 and closed in 1985.

References

1. Ishino, Tetsu; et al., eds. (1998). 停車場変遷大事典 国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory – JNR/JR] (in Japanese). Vol. I. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. pp. 230, 231. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
2. "一部不通の日田彦山線 Jr九州が新たな「Brt復旧案」提示 九州北部豪雨で被災". 12 February 2020.
3. News about formally agreement
4. "JR日田彦山線「BRT」新路線 ８月２８日開業で調整" [Hitahikosan BRT line revised to open on 28 August 2023]. Nihon Keizai Shimbun WEB. 25 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.

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