Fukui Railway Fukubu Line

The Fukui Railway Fukubu Line (福井鉄道福武線, Fukui Tetsudō Fukubu-sen) is a 21.4 km railway line operated by Fukui Railway in Fukui Prefecture. The line runs from Echizen-Takefu Station in Echizen to Tawaramachi and Fukui-Ekimae stations in Fukui. Although it has its own right-of-way for most of the route, the Fukubu Line runs with traffic as a tram line past Fukui-Shin Station.

Fukui Railway Fukubu Line
Fukutetsu Series 200 (left) and Series 770 trains near Daimyōmachi intersection
Overview
TypeHeavy rail, Light rail, Interurban
LocaleFukui Prefecture
TerminiEchizen-Takefu
Fukui-Ekimae / Tawaramachi
Stations23
Operation
Opened1924
OwnerFukui Railway
Technical
Line length21.4 km[1]
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification600 V DC, overhead catenary
Operating speed65 km/h[1]
40 km/h on street-running sections
Route map
Takefu
0.0 Echizen-Takefu
0.6 Kitago
Nanetsu Line
1.7 Sports Kōen
2.4 Iehisa
 4.1 Sundome Nishi
 5.3 Nishi-Sabae
 6.0 Nishiyama-Kōen
Seiho Line
7.3 Mizuochi
 8.5 Shinmei
 9.7 Tobanaka
 10.2 Nishi-Tobanaka
-1935
 10.9 Sanjūhassha
 13.0 Asōzu
 13.8 Harmony Hall
 15.5 Ebata
 16.1 Bell-mae
 16.9 Hanandō
 17.8 Sekijūjimae
 18.1 Street-running limit
 18.4 Kidayotsutsuji
 18.6 Fujishima Jinja-mae
-1962
 18.9 Kōenguchi
19.0 Keya-machi
-1962
Hokuriku Main Line
Honchō-dōri
-2002
20.1 Fukui-Ekimae
19.6 Shiyakushomae
Echizen Railway
20.2 Jin'ai Joshikōkō
20.4 Matsumoto-dōri
-1964
20.9 Tawaramachi
Mikuni Awara Line

History
Fukui Railway 200 series train original livery.

The Fukubu Electric Railway (福武電気鉄道, Fukubu Denki Tetsudō) opened the Fukubu Line on 23 February 1924[1] for the purposes of transporting soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army Sabae 36th Regiment between Takefu-Shin and Heiei (兵営) (now Shinmei) stations.

  • 23 February 1924: Fukubu Electric Railway opens the Fukubu Line between Takefu-Shin and Heiei (now Shinmei).[1]
  • 26 July 1925: Heiei – Fukui-Shin (now Sekijūjimae) section opens.[1]
  • 5 June 1927: Sanjūhassha Station opens.[2]
  • 5 October 1927: Mizuochi Station opens;[2] former transfer station for the Seiho Electric Railway.
  • 13 August 1929: Kami-Sabae (now Sundome Nishi), Shimo-Sabae (now Nishiyama-Kōen) stations open.
  • 15 October 1933: Fukui-Shin – Fukui-Ekimae section opens.
  • 1 October 1935: Tobanaka Station opens; Nishi-Tobanaka Station (between Heiei and Tobanaka) closes.[2]
  • April 1939: Heiei Station is renamed Chūō Station.
  • 1 April 1941: Express service begins.
  • 1 August 1945: Fukubu Electric Railway merges with Seiho Electric Railway to form Fukui Railway.[1]
  • June 1946: Chūō Station renamed Shinmei Station.
  • 12 July 1950: Hanandō – Fukui-Shin section double-tracked.
  • 27 November 1950: Honmachi-dōri — Fukui-Shin section opens. Daimyōmachi Station is renamed Honmachi-dōri Station.
  • 1 April 1962: Keyamachi Station moved and renamed Kōenguchi Station. Fujishima-Jinja-mae Station (between Kidayotsutsuji and Kōenguchi) closes.[2]
  • 11 December 1964: Matsumoto-dōri Station (between Saibanshomae and Tawaramachi) closes. Saibanshomae Station moved towards Tawaramachi.
  • 1 September 1969: Service between Hanandō, Fukui-Ekimae, and Tawaramachi abolished; all trains run through to Takefu-Shin Station.
  • 2 October 1979: Freight services discontinued.[1]
  • 10 April 1980: Centralized traffic control (CTC) introduced.[1]
  • 1 August 1985: Driver-only operation introduced on morning and evening services.[1]
  • 10 April 1987: Shimo-Sabae Station renamed Nishiyama-Kōen Station.
  • 1 October 1989: Hanandō-Minami Station opens.
  • 20 January 1993: All trains equipped with ATS.[1]
  • 15 April 1993: Hanandō-Minami Station renamed Bell-mae Station.
  • 20 September 1997: Harmony Hall Station opens.
  • 30 November 1998: Daytime service interval changed to 20 minutes.[1]
  • 15 July 2002: Honmachi-dōri Station (between Kōenguchi and Shiyakushomae) closed.
  • 1 December 2003: Part of Shiyakushomae — Fukui-Ekimae section single-tracked due to construction around Fukui Station.
  • 30 September 2004: Semi-express service abolished.
  • January-March 2006: All station platforms modified to serve low-floor vehicles.
  • 1 April 2006: Low-floor trains enter service. Last departure time brought forward 30 minutes.
  • 16 December 2007: Daytime shuttle trains begin service between Fukui-Ekimae and Tawaramachi.

On March 25, 2010, Sports-Kōen Station was established between the Nishi-Takefu and Iehisa stations. At the same time, five stations were renamed: Takefu-Shin to Echizen-Takefu; Nishi-Takefu to Kitago; Kami-Sabae to Sundome-Nishi; Fukui-Shin to Sekijūjimae; and Saibanshomae to Jin'ai-Joshikōkō.[3][4]


Station list
  • All stations are located in Fukui Prefecture.
  • Express (急行) and Sub Express (区間急行) trains stop at stations marked "●" and pass those marked "｜". Local trains stop at all stations.
  • Staff:
    • ◎ - Present all day
    • ○ - Present except early mornings and late nights
    • ◇ - Present during peak hours only
    • △ - Present during holidays only
    • × - Unstaffed
    • ※ - Present during events only
Station Japanese Distance (km) Sub Express Express Staff Transfers Location
Between
Stations		 Total
Echizen-Takefu 越前武生 - 0.0 ● ● ◎ West Japan Railway Company (JR West): Hokuriku Main Line (Takefu) Echizen
Kitago 北府 0.6 0.6 ● ● ×  
Sports Kōen スポーツ公園 1.1 1.7 ● ｜ ×  
Iehisa 家久 0.7 2.4 ● ● ×  
Sundome Nishi サンドーム西 1.7 4.1 ● ｜ ×   Sabae
Nishi-Sabae 西鯖江 1.2 5.3 ● ● ○  
Nishiyama-Kōen 西山公園 0.7 6.0 ● ｜ ※  
Mizuochi 水落 1.3 7.3 ● ● ×  
Shinmei 神明 1.2 8.5 ● ● ○  
Tobanaka 鳥羽中 1.2 9.7 ｜ ｜ ×  
Sanjūhassha 三十八社 1.2 10.9 ｜ ｜ ×   Fukui
Taichō no Sato 泰澄の里 1.3 12.2 ｜ ｜ ×  
Asōzu 浅水 0.8 13.0 ● ● ○  
Harmony Hall ハーモニーホール 0.8 13.8 ｜ ｜ ×  
Seimei 清明 1.1 14.9 ｜ ｜ ×  
Ebata 江端 0.6 15.5 ｜ ｜ ×  
Bell-mae ベル前 0.6 16.1 ● ● △  
Hanandō 花堂 0.8 16.9 ｜ ｜ ×  
Sekijūjimae 赤十字前 0.9 17.8 ● ● ○  
Shokokaigishomae 商工会議所前 0.6 18.4 ● ● ×  
Asuwayamakoenguchi 足羽山公園口 0.5 18.9 ● ● ×  
Fukui Castle Ruins-daimyomachi 福井城址大名町 0.7 19.6 ● ● ◇  
Fukui-eki 福井駅 0.5 20.1 ● ● × JR West: Hokuriku Main Line (Fukui)
Echizen Railway: Katsuyama Eiheiji Line (Fukui)
Jin'ai Joshikōkō 仁愛女子高校 0.6* 20.2   ● ×  
Tawaramachi 田原町 0.7 20.9   ● × Echizen Railway: Mikuni Awara Line (Some direct for Washizuka-Haribara)
  • Note that distances for Jin'ai Joshikōkō and Tawaramachi Stations are measured from Shiyakushomae Station.[1]

References
  1. Terada, Hirokazu (July 2002). データブック日本の私鉄 (Databook: Japan's Private Railways). Japan: Neko Publishing. ISBN 4-87366-874-3.
  2. 今井恵介監修『日本鉄道旅行地図 6号 北信越』新潮社、2008年、p.25
  3. 福武線に新駅「スポーツ公園駅」　来月２５日開業－－今年３月　／福井 Archived 2010-02-21 at the Wayback Machine Fukui Shimbun, February 19, 2010. (in Japanese)
  4. 平成22年3月25日 ダイヤ改正！ Fukui Railway. (in Japanese)
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