Minobu Line
The Minobu Line is a railway line in the Tōkai region of Japan operated by the Central Japan Railway Company. It runs between Fuji Station in Fuji, Shizuoka and Kōfu Station in Kōfu, Yamanashi, connecting the Tōkaidō Main Line to the Chūō Main Line.
History
The Fuji Horse Tramway opened a line from Suzukawa on the Tōkaidō Main Line to Ōmiya, the southern end of the current route, in 1890.Fuji Minobu Railway purchased the tramway in 1912, and converted it to a steam railway the following year, gradually extending the line to, a distance of by 1920. In 1927, the line was electrified, and in 1928 extended to on the Chūō Main Line completing the line with a distance of.
In 1938, the Minobu Line was leased by the government, and nationalized in 1941. The alignment at Fuji was changed in 1968 to allow through trains to operate from Tokyo without requiring a reversal of direction, and the Fuji–Fujinomiya section was double-tracked between 1969 and 1974.
CTC signalling was commissioned in 1982, and freight services ceased in 1987, the year that Central Japan Railway Company took over operations of the Minobu Line following privatization of Japanese National Railways.
Former connecting lines
- Fujinomiya station - The Fuji Horse Tramway operated a 20 km 610mm gauge line to Kami-ide between 1909 and 1939.