Furusato Ginga Line
The Furusato Ginga Line was a railway line operated by the third-sector Hokkaidō Chihoku Kōgen Railway Company in Hokkaidō, Japan. The line connected the municipalities of Ikeda and Kitami until its closure in 2006.
History
The first segment of the line, originally called the Abashiri Line and operated by Japanese Government Railways, was opened on September 22, 1910, and ran for 77.4 km, connecting Ikeda and Rikunbetsu. The line was then extended further north, and on September 25, 1911, the segment connecting Rikunbetsu and Nokkeushi was opened. In 1912 the Abashiri Line was further extended to, and the line was renamed the Abashiri Main Line.Once the Sekihoku Line was extended to Nokkeushi in 1932, traffic largely shifted to the shorter Sekihoku Line. On April 1, 1961, the section of the Abashiri Main Line from Ikeda to Kitami was named the Chihoku Line, and the rest of the Abashiri Main Line was absorbed into the Sekihoku Main Line. The name "Chihoku Line" was created from the on'yomi of each of the first characters for Ikeda and Kitami.
In 1987 Japanese National Railways, the successor to Japanese Government Railways, was privatized and JR Hokkaido took over management of the line. However, on June 4, 1989, JR Hokkaido ceased operation of the Chihoku Line. Unlike all other lines shut down by JNR and JR Hokkaido, in the Chihoku Line's case a successor company was established by local governments and private investors. The new company, Hokkaidō Chihoku Kōgen Railway Company, renamed the Chihoku Line to the Furusato Ginga Line and introduced new cars. However 17 years later, the company came to the decision to close the line, which thus ceased operations on April 21, 2006.