Kurihara Den'en Railway Line
The Kurihara Den'en Railway Line was a rural rail line in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, abandoned on March 31, 2007. Running from Ishikoshi Station in Tome, Miyagi with a connection to the Tōhoku Main Line, extending westward to inland Hosokura Mine Park Mae Station in Kurihara, along central Kurihara. This line used to be called Kuriden for short because the preceding name of the operator was the Kurihara Electric Railway.
The line was initially constructed to transport ore from Uguisuzawa's Hosokura Mine which was closed in 1988.
Infrastructure
The operator introduced diesel multiple units during the reorganization in 1995, but the old 750 V DC electric installation remained for economic reasons. It was one of few railways then in Japan that operated with an obsolete semaphore signal system and non-automatic blocking system.Operation and service
All trains consisted of a single car without a conductor. The fare was twice as high as comparable distances on Japan Railways lines. Only three of the sixteen stations, namely Wakayanagi, Sawabe, Kurikoma were regularly staffed.History
Originally the line was gauged, constructed by Kurihara Tramway and opened in 1921, later renamed to Kurihara Railway in 1941 and again to Kurihara Dentetsu in 1955.The closure of Hosokura Mine in 1988 reduced freight traffic. The company had hoped for tourists to the Hosokura Mine Park, an amusement park built at the mine site. But this effort failed to stop the decrease of passengers. Municipalities decided to retain the operator as a third sector in 1993, renamed on April 1, 1995 to Kurihara Den'en Railway.
The company has curtailed investment and maintenance measures and made some efforts to increase passengers. But the rapid shift to car traffic has overwhelmed railways everywhere in Japan since the 1990s. Miyagi Prefecture had subsidized the deficit for several years, but in 2001 gave notice to the municipalities of a future suspension of the subsidy. In December 2003 they decided to close the railway in March 2007.
Timeline
- December 15, 1918: Kurihara Tramway established
- December 20, 1921: Ishikoshi - Sawabe
- December 17, 1922: Sawabe - Iwasasaki
- December 3, 1941: Classification from tramway to railway, renamed to Kurihara Railway
- December 1, 1942: Iwasasaki - Hosokura Mine, stretch completed
- September 21, 1952: Electrified DC 750 V
- September 26, 1955: Regauged from to for through operation to the then Japanese National Railways
- November 29, 1955: Renamed to Kurihara Electric Railway
- June 1, 1964: Bus and train services in the area combined to a single company,
- August 31, 1968: Bus service separated to Miyagi Central Bus
- February 25, 1969: Renamed back again to Kurihara Electric Railway
- March 29, 1987: Hosokuura - Hosokuura Mine freight service closed
- November 1, 1988: Hosokura - Hosokura Mine abandoned
- June 16, 1990: Hosokura - Hosokura Mine Park Mae opened. Hosokura Station abandoned
- December 15, 1993: Mitsubishi Material transferred ownership of the Kurihara Electric Railway to the then five towns along the line
- May 1, 1995: Renamed to Kurihara Den'en Railway. Electric operation terminated. Conductorless operation introduced
- April 1, 2007: Railway service terminated
Stations
Station names and location use the name at the time of line closure. All stations were located in Miyagi Prefecture.| Station | Japanese | Open | Close | Notes | Location |
| Ishikoshi | 石越 | December 20, 1921 | April 1, 2007 | Connection with Tohoku Main Line | Tome |
| Aramachi | 荒町 | December 20, 1921 | April 1, 2007 | Kurihara | |
| Wakayanagi | 若柳 | December 20, 1921 | April 1, 2007 | Kurihara | |
| Yachihata | 谷地畑 | October 10, 1926 | April 1, 2007 | Kurihara | |
| Ōokashōmae | 大岡小前 | December 25, 1995 | April 1, 2007 | Kurihara | |
| Ōoka | 大岡 | December 20, 1921 | April 1, 2007 | Kurihara | |
| Sawabe | 沢辺 | December 20, 1921 | April 1, 2007 | Kurihara | |
| Tsukumo | 津久毛 | January 15, 1924 | April 1, 2007 | Kurihara | |
| Sugihashi | 杉橋 | January 15, 1924 | April 1, 2007 | Kurihara | |
| Toyasaki | 鳥矢崎 | February 13, 1930 | April 1, 2007 | Kurihara | |
| Kurikoma | 栗駒 | December 17, 1922 | April 1, 2007 | Kurihara | |
| Kuriharatamachi | 栗原田町 | November 1, 1951 | April 1, 2007 | Kurihara | |
| Omatsu | 尾松 | December 1, 1942 | April 1, 2007 | Kurihara | |
| Uguisuzawa | 鴬沢 | December 1, 1942 | April 1, 2007 | Kurihara | |
| Uguisuzawa Kōgyōkōkō Mae | 鶯沢工業高校前 | April 1, 1952 | April 1, 2007 | Kurihara | |
| Hosokura Mine Park Mae | 細倉マインパーク前 | December 1, 1942 | April 1, 2007 | Relocated by 200m in 1990 and renamed from "Hosokura" | Kurihara |
Rolling stock
- For service
- ;KD 95 type
- :Railcar built in 1995. Nos. KD 951 to KD 953
- ;KD 10 type
- :Railcar for busy hours, used with conductor. Nos. KD 11, KD 12, previously Nagoya Railroad "Kiha 10" type, nos. "Kiha 15", "Kiha 16"
- For maintenance
- ;DB 10 type
- :Diesel locomotive, 4-wheel. No. DB 101
- ;MC 100 type
- :Motor car
- ;No. "To 102", "To 103"
- :Wooden truck
- ;No. "Wafu 74"
- :Wooden wagon
- Preserved from electrified period, at Kurihara Mine Park Mae
- ;ED202
- :Electric locomotive, 2-truck, 8-wheel. Regauged survivour of era
- ;No. "Wa 71"
- :Wooden wagon
- Left intact in Wakayanagi depot
- ;EMUs used until 1995
- :M15 type, newly built on regaugement, etc.