Tagawa Line

The Tagawa Line (田川線, Tagawa-sen) is a 26.3 km railway line owned by the Heisei Chikuhō Railway. The line runs west along the Ima River from Yukuhashi to Tagawa, all within Fukuoka Prefecture.

Tagawa Line
A Heisei Chikuhō train at Tagawa-Ita Station
Overview
Native name	田川線
Owner	Heisei Chikuhō Railway
Locale	Fukuoka Prefecture
Termini	Yukuhashi Tagawa-Ita
Stations	17
Website	www.heichiku.net
Service
Type	Heavy rail
History
Completed	15 August 1895 (1895-08-15)
Privatized	1 October 1989 (1989-10-01)
Technical
Line length	26.3 km (16.3 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	None
Operating speed	85 km/h (53 mph)
Route map

History

The line was first built in 1895 by the Hōshū Railway (豊州鉄道), which was merged in 1901 with Kyushu Railway. It was an important railway line to transport coal between the Chikuhō coal mine with Kanda Port (苅田港) in Kanda, north of Yukuhashi. Kyushu Railway was nationalized in 1907 and was merged into Japanese Government Railway, where it was named the Tagawa Line. In 1942, the line was extended south from Ita Station (now Tagawa-Ita Station) to Hikosan Station. The portion between Hikosan and Soeda Station was later reorganized into the Hita Line (now Hitahikosan Line) in 1956, and the section between Soeda and Ita was also merged into the same line in 1960 to form the current Tagawa Line.

Between 1899 and 1973, a short freight-only branch line ran north from Kawara Station (now Magarikane Station) to Natsuyoshi.^[1]

Ridership suffered with the decline and closure of the Chikuhō coal mine. Therefore, JR Kyushu, the successor of Japanese Government Railway, privatized and transferred the Ita Line, Itoda Line, and Tagawa Line to the newly founded Heisei Chikuhō Railway in 1997.

Operations

The line is not electrified and is single-tracked for the entire line. Some services continue past Tagawa-Ita Station on the Ita Line to Nōgata Station.^[2]

The Tagawa Line runs through many historical sites, including the Second Issaka Tunnel (第二石坂トンネル), the oldest railway tunnel in Japan, and the Uchida Triple-Arch Bridge (内田三連橋梁), an old brick arch bridge. Both sites were registered as national cultural heritage sites in 1999.^[3][4]

Stations

All stations are within Fukuoka Prefecture.

No.	Name		Distance (km)	Connections	Location
HC31	Yukuhashi	行橋	0.0	JR Kyushu: Nippō Main Line	Yukuhashi
HC30	Reiwa Costa Yukuhashi	令和コスタ行橋	1.3
HC29	Miyakoizumi	美夜古泉	2.3
HC28	Imagawa-Kappa	今川河童	3.0
HC27	Toyotsu	豊津	4.9
HC26	Shin-Toyotsu	新豊津	5.8		Miyako
HC25	Higashi-Saigawa-Sanshirō	東犀川三四郎	8.2
HC24	Saigawa	犀川	9.7
HC23	Sakiyama	崎山駅	12.4
HC22	Genjiinomori	源じいの森	15.8		Aka
HC21	Yusubaru	油須原	16.9
HC20	Aka	赤	18.4
HC19	Uchida	内田	20.7
HC18	Kakishita-Onsen-Guchi	柿下温泉口	22.5		Kawara
HC17	Magarikane	勾金	23.6
HC16	Kamiita	上伊田	24.9		Tagawa
HC15	Tagawa-Ita	田川伊田	26.3	■ Ita Line JR Kyushu: Hitahikosan Line

References

1. "香春駅 －現勾金駅－". 田川市立図書館／筑豊・田川デジタルアーカイブ (in Japanese). ADEAC. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
2. "平成筑豊鉄道全駅時刻表 直方 → 金田 → 田川伊田 → 行橋・金田 → 田川後藤寺" (PDF). 平成筑豊鉄道 (in Japanese). 平成筑豊鉄道. 16 March 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
3. "石坂トンネル（第２隧道） いしざかとんねる（だいにずいどう）". Cultural Heritage Online (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
4. "内田三連橋梁 うちださんれんきょうりょう". Cultural Heritage Online (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.