Takachiho Railway

Takachiho Railway (高千穂鉄道, Takachiho Tetsudō) was a Japanese railway company. The company in Miyazaki Prefecture suspended operation of the railway after a typhoon disaster in 2005 and was liquidated in 2009.

Bridge on Gokase River

Line

The company operated the Takachiho Line connecting Nobeoka Station in Nobeoka, Miyazaki and Takachiho Station in Takachiho, Miyazaki. The government authorization of the railway business was abolished for a half of the line in 2007 and for the remaining half in 2008.

  • Distance 50.0 km (31 mi)
    • Nobeoka — Makinine 29.1 km (18.1 mi) officially closed on 2007-09-06
    • Makimine — Takachiho 20.9 kilometres (13.0 mi) officially closed on 2008-12-28
  • Gauge: 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
  • Stations: 19
  • Double-track line: None
  • Electrification: None
  • Signalling: Simplified automatic

History

The Takachiho Line, originally named the Hinokage Line (日ノ影線, Hinokage sen) of Japanese Government Railways, opened on February 20, 1935, in the section between Nobeoka and Hyūga-Okamoto stations.

Following some extensions, the line reached Takachiho Station on July 22, 1972 and was renamed the Takachiho Line same day.[1]

Freight service ceased in 1974. In 1982 all service was suspended for four months due to typhoon damage.

When the national railway was privatized in 1987, the line belonged to JR Kyushu, which withdrew from the operation of the Takachiho Line and transferred it to Takachiho Railway, a new company established by local funds, on April 28, 1989.[1]

On September 6, 2005, flooding triggered by Typhoon Nabi washed away two bridges on the line, halting all operations. By December, it was clear that no government funding for rebuilding was available. Attempts by local communities to rebuild the railway were unsuccessful. A shareholders' resolution made on January 6, 2009 started the company's liquidation procedures which ended in March 2009 with no distribution to shareholders.[2]

Proposed extension

After the line opened in 1972, construction of the 23 km section from Takachiho to the Takamori line continued until 1975, when flooding in the 6500m Takamori tunnel (16 km north of Takachiho) resulted in work being suspended. Construction was formally abandoned in 1980.

Stations
Station Japanese Distance
(km)		 Opened on Transfers Location Coordinates
Nobeoka 延岡 0.0 1922-05-01 JR Kyushu: Nippo Main Line Nobeoka Miyazaki
Prefecture		 32°35′24″N 131°40′21″E
Nishinobeoka 西延岡 4.1 1935-02-20   32°35′12″N 131°38′24″E
Mukabaki 行縢 6.8 1935-02-20   32°34′45″N 131°36′49″E
Hosomi 細見 10.4 1957-02-01   32°34′00″N 131°34′50″E
Hyūga-Okamoto 日向岡元 11.6 1935-02-20   32°33′55″N 131°34′08″E
Hakiai 吐合 13.3 1957-02-01   32°33′56″N 131°33′02″E
Soki 曽木 14.6 1936-04-12   32°34′23″N 131°32′30″E
Kawazuru 川水流 17.1 1936-04-12   32°33′38″N 131°31′26″E
Kamizaki 上崎 19.9 1957-02-01   32°34′36″N 131°30′40″E
Hayahito 早日渡 24.9 1937-09-03   32°36′18″N 131°29′04″E
Kamegasaki 亀ヶ崎 26.4 1957-02-01   32°36′02″N 131°28′12″E
Makimine 槇峰 29.1 1937-09-03   Hinokage Nishiusuki
District		 32°36′42″N 131°26′50″E
Hyūga-Yato 日向八戸 31.5 1939-10-11   32°37′16″N 131°25′48″E
Gomi 吾味 32.9 1957-02-01   32°37′23″N 131°25′02″E
Hinokageonsen 日之影温泉 37.6 1939-10-11   32°38′56″N 131°23′29″E
Kagemachi 影待 40.4 1972-07-22   32°39′56″N 131°22′23″E
Fukasumi 深角 44.0 1972-07-22   32°40′55″N 131°20′41″E
Amanoiwato 天岩戸 47.9 1972-07-22   Takachiho 32°42′31″N 131°19′40″E
Takachiho 高千穂駅 50.0 1972-07-22   32°42′53″N 131°18′23″E

Cars

In 2005
  • TR100 (101, 102, 203, 104, 105)
  • TR200 (201, 202)
  • TR400 (401, 402)

Following the closure of the line, two truck-style sightseeing cars, TR401 and TR402, were purchased by JR Kyushu upon an offer from Takachiho Railway.[3] They will be refurbished and used on the new Umisachi Yamasachi limited express service on the Nichinan Line from October 2009.[4]

Among ordinary railcars, TR201 was given to Asa Kaigan Railway without compensation. It will go into service in autumn 2009. Other ordinary cars were disused. TR104 and TR105 were given to the town of Hinokage and are preserved at Hinokage-Onsen Station. TR101 and TR202 were given to the town of Takachiho and are preserved at Takachiho Station. Others were scrapped.[5]

  • TR100 for local trains
  • Amanouzume-gō used for Torokko-Kagura-gō
  • Tajikarao-gō used for Torokko-Kagura-gō

Before 2005
  • TR300

Current operations

Takachiho-Amaterasu Railway Co. (高千穂あまてらす鉄道, Takachiho-Amaterasu-Tetsudō) operates the line between Takachiho and Amanoiwato as a heritage railway.

References
  1. Ishino, Tetsu; et al., eds. (1998). 停車場変遷大事典 国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory - JNR/JR] (in Japanese). I. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. p. 232. ISBN 4533029809.
  2. 高千穂鉄道、清算終了 (Yukan Daily, March 29, 2008). Retrieved on July 19, 2009.
  3. 高千穂鉄道（株）からの車両購入について Archived 2009-09-04 at the Wayback Machine, JR Kyushu Press Release. November 25, 2008
  4. 日南線観光特急「海幸山幸」運行概要決定 Archived 2009-07-19 at the Wayback Machine, JR Kyushu Press Release. June 23, 2009
  5. Saitō, Mikio. 高千穂鉄道 車両搬出作業実施 [Takachiho Railway: Cars Carried Out]. Japan Railfan Magazine (in Japanese). No. 577, May 2009. Tokyo: Kōyūsha. p. 149.
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