Kumamoto Electric Railway
The Kumamoto Electric Railway is a public transport company in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It is abbreviated as Kumamoto Dentetsu or Kumaden. The company was founded in 1909. The company operates railway and bus lines.
Lines
- Kikuchi Line
- *Kami-Kumamoto — Kita-Kumamoto — Miyoshi:
- Fujisaki Line
- *Kita-Kumamoto — Fujisakigū-mae:
Routes and services
Train services operate on two routes:- Kami-Kumamoto — Kita-Kumamoto
- Miyoshi — Kita-Kumamoto — Fujisakigū-mae
From 3 February 2025, Kumamoto Electric Railway implemented service reductions due to chronic driver shortages. Kami-Kumamoto — Kita-Kumamoto services will operate every 40 minutes, and Miyoshi — Kita-Kumamoto — Fujisakigū-mae services will operate every 20 minutes during morning & evening peak hours and every 40 minutes at other times.
At Kami-Kumamoto, passengers can transfer to JR Kyushu Kagoshima Line trains and Kumamoto City Transportation Bureau tram Route B.
Rolling stock
All trains are 2-car sets acquired second-hand from other operators.Current
- 1000 series EMUs, since March 2022
- 03 series EMUs, 3 x 2-car sets, since April 2019
- 01 series EMUs, 2 x 2-car sets, since March 2015
- 6000 series EMUs, 5 x 2-car sets, since 1995
Former
- 200 series EMU
- 5000 series EMUs
History
The forerunner of the company, Kikuchi Tramway, was established in on 15 August 1909, and opened the gauge steam-hauled line from Ikeda Station to Sendanbatamachi Station on 1 October 1911. On 27 August 1913, the line between Ikeda and Waifu Station was opened.From 31 August 1923, the line was converted to gauge and electrified at 600 V DC.
The current section of the Kikuchi Line between Kita-Kumamoto and Kami-Kumamoto opened on 1 October 1950, resulting in two lines between those stations, the original via Fujisakigū-mae and the new line. In June 1953 the original line from Kami-Kumamoto to Fujisakigū-mae closed. The 13.5 km Miyoshi to Kikuchi section closed on 16 February 1986 due to falling patronage.