Chikuhō Electric Railroad Line

The Chikuhō Electric Railroad Line (筑豊電気鉄道線, Chikuhō Denki Tetsudō-sen) is a railway line in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, connecting Kurosaki-Ekimae in Kitakyushu with Chikuhō-Nōgata Station in Nōgata, operated by Chikuhō Electric Railroad (筑豊電気鉄道, Chikuhō Denki Tetsudō). The line does not have an official name. The company and the line is also called Chikutetsu (筑鉄). The company is a subsidiary of Nishi-Nippon Railroad (Nishitetsu), founded in 1951.[1] The line originally had a through service with the Nishitetsu Kitakyushu Line, a tram line closed in 2000. Because of this, the Chikutetsu Line only uses tram vehicles. However, the line is legally classified as a railway under Railway Business Act, not a tramway under Tram Act, and the line does not share any segments with public roads.

Chikuhō Electric Railroad Line
A Chikutetsu 3000 series train on the Chikuho Railroad in April 2016
Overview
Native name筑豊電気鉄道線
LocaleFukuoka Prefecture
TerminiKurosaki
Chikuhō-Nōgata
Stations21
Operation
OpenedMarch 21, 1956
OwnerNishitetsu Group
Rolling stock
  • 2000 series
  • 3000 series
  • 5000 series
Technical
Line length16.0 km (9.9 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Minimum radius300 m
Electrification600 V DC overhead lines
Operating speed60 km/h (35 mph)

Station list
Code Station name Japanese Distance (km)
(between stations)		 Total distance (km) Transfers Location
CK 01 Kurosaki-Ekimae 黒崎駅前 - 0.0
Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu
CK 02 Nishi-Kurosaki 西黒崎 0.2 0.2  
CK 03 Kumanishi 熊西 0.4 0.6  
CK 04 Hagiwara 萩原 1.1 1.7  
CK 05 Anō 穴生 0.6 2.3  
CK 06 Morishita 森下 0.5 2.8  
CK 07 Imaike 今池 0.9 3.7  
CK 08 Einomaru 永犬丸 0.8 4.5  
CK 09 Sangamori 三ヶ森 0.5 5.0  
CK 10 Nishiyama 西山 0.7 5.7  
CK 11 Tōritani 通谷 1.0 6.7   Nakama, Fukuoka
CK 12 Higashi-Nakama 東中間 0.5 7.2  
CK 13 Chikuhō-Nakama 筑豊中間 0.7 7.9  
CK 14 Kibōgaoka-Kōkōmae 希望が丘高校前 0.9 8.8  
CK 15 Chikuhō-Katsuki 筑豊香月 1.4 10.2   Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu
CK 16 Kusubashi 楠橋 1.3 11.5  
CK 17 Shin-Koyanose 新木屋瀬 0.6 12.1  
CK 18 Koyanose 木屋瀬 0.5 12.6  
CK 19 Ongano 遠賀野 1.3 13.9   Nōgata, Fukuoka
CK 20 Ganda 感田 1.3 15.2  
CK 21 Chikuhō-Nōgata 筑豊直方 0.8 16.0  

Rolling stock

The Chikuhō Electric Railroad operates the following fleet of tramcars.[2]

  • 2000 series 3-car articulated EMUs
  • 3000 series 2-car articulated EMUs
  • 5000 series 3-car articulated low-floor tramcars

2000 series

The 2000 series sets were purchased from Nishitetsu and rebuilt as three-car articulated units with four bogies.[3]

As of 1 April 2017, three of the original seven 2000 series sets (2002, 2003, 2006) remained in operation.[2] Each car was finished in a different colour livery as follows.[4]

Set No.LiveryNotes
2001     PurpleWithdrawn
2002     Indigo
2003     Blue
2004     GreenWithdrawn
2005     YellowWithdrawn
2006     Orange
2007     RedWithdrawn
  • Purple-liveried set 2001 in October 2007
  • Set 2003 in original livery in October 2007
  • Blue-liveried set 2003 in March 2008
  • Yellow-liveried set 2005 in July 2009
  • Red-liveried set 2007 in July 2009

3000 series

Nine 3000 series sets were introduced between 1988 and 1996.[3] As of 1 April 2017, all nine 3000 series sets were in operation, numbered 3001 to 3009.[2]

  • Set 3004 in April 2016
  • Set 3005 in old-style livery in November 2016

5000 series

The 5000 series is a 17.6 m long low-floor tramcar type with three articulated units mounted on two bogies. As of 1 April 2017, three 5000 series sets were in operation,[2] with a total of four sets scheduled to be in operation by March 2018.[5]

Individual car histories are as follows.[2]

Set No.ManufacturerDelivery dateService entry dateLivery
5001Alna SharyoFebruary 201514 March 2015     Pink
5002Alna SharyoFebruary 20161 March 2016     Green
5003Alna SharyoFebruary 201713 February 2017     Pink
5004Alna Sharyo201718 December 2017[6]     Light blue
  • 5001 in March 2015
  • 5002 in November 2016

Former rolling stock
  • 2100 series two-car articulated EMUs
  • Set 2105 in 2000

History

The Chikuho Electric Railroad was founded 15 February 1951.[1] The line opened on 21 March 1956, initially from Kumanishi to Chikuhō-Nakama. This was extended to Koyanose on 29 April 1958, and to Chikuhō-Nōgata on 18 September 1959.[1]

See also

References
  1. Terada, Hirokazu (19 January 2013). データブック日本の私鉄 [Databook: Japan's Private Railways] (in Japanese). Japan: Neko Publishing. p. 175. ISBN 978-4-7770-1336-4.
  2. 私鉄車両編成表 2017 [Private Railway Rolling Stock Formations - 2017] (in Japanese). Japan: Kotsu Shimbunsha. 25 July 2017. p. 186. ISBN 978-4-330-81317-2.
  3. Takai, Kunpei (30 June 2014). Morokawa, Hisashi; Hattori, Akihiro (eds.). 全国私鉄超決定版　電車・機関車・気動車1700 [Nationwide Private Railway Ultimate Edition: 1700 EMUs, Locomotives, and DMUs] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Sekaibunka-sha. p. 275. ISBN 978-4-418-14219-4.
  4. 私鉄車両編成表 2010 [Private Railway Rolling Stock Formations - 2010] (in Japanese). Japan: Kotsu Shimbunsha. August 2010. p. 162. ISBN 978-4-330-15310-0.
  5. 筑豊電鉄:新型車両導入へ　ＩＣカードシステムも　沿線３市と支援協定　／福岡 [Chikuho Electric Railroad to introduce new trains and IC card system]. Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). Japan: The Mainichi Newspapers. 11 July 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  6. 筑豊電鉄5000形5004編成が営業運転を開始 [Chikuho Electric Railroad 5000 series set 5004 enters revenue service]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 22 December 2017. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
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