Enshū Railway Line
The Enshū Railway Line, officially the Railway Line, is a Japanese railway line in Shizuoka Prefecture, running north from Shin-Hamamatsu Station in Chūō Ward to Nishi-Kajima Station in Tenryū Ward, all within Hamamatsu. This is the only railway line Enshū Railway operates. The line is nicknamed the Nishi-Kajima Line, while locals often call it Akaden, referring to the color of the EMUs. The line accepts NicePass, a smart card ticketing system, as well as ET Card, a magnetic card ticketing system.
Railway signalling on this line is automatic.
History
Most of the line opened as a narrow-gauge railway on December 6, 1909 by the Dai-Nippon Light Railway. The line was transferred to the Enshu Railway on October 12, 1919. On April 1, 1923, the line was closed as a narrow-gauge railway and was converted to gauge railway, electrified at 600 VDC. The line was extended from Entetsu-Hamamatsu to Enshu-Magome on February 1, 1924 and to the current Shin-Hamamatsu station on September 1, 1927. The voltage was increased to 750 VDC in 1961, and CTC signalling was commissioned between Nishi-Kajima and Hachiman in 1967, and extended to Shin-Hamamatsu in 1974.Freight services ceased in 1976.
Former connecting lines
- Hamakita station - The Seien Railway Co. opened a gauge line to Miyaguchi in 1924, and merged with the Enshu Railway Co. in 1928. The line closed in 1937.