The Watarase Keikoku Line (わたらせ渓谷線, -sen) is a Japanese railway line connecting Kiryū Station in Kiryū, Gunma and Matō Station in Nikkō, Tochigi. This is the only railway line that the third-sector companyWatarase Keikoku Railway (わたらせ渓谷鐵道, Watarase Keikoku Tetsudō) operates. The company and line are also known as Watakei (わた渓) or Watetsu (わ鐵). The company acquired the line from the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in 1989. As the name suggests, the line runs along the Watarase River through a deep valley.
The Ashio Railway Co. opened the line to Ashio-Motoyama (2 km beyond Mato) in 1911/12 to service the Ashio Copper Mine, and leased the line to JNR in 1913. Passenger services were introduced in 1914, and the line was nationalised in 1918.
The copper mine closed in 1973, the same year the line was deviated for the construction of the Kusaki Dam, including the 5242m Kusaki Tunnel.
In 1989 the Ashio-Motoyama - Mato section was closed and the operation of the balance of the line was transferred to the Watarase Keikoku Railway Co.
watarase, keikoku, line, this, article, does, cite, sources, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, january, 2010, learn, whe. This article does not cite any sources Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Watarase Keikoku Line news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Watarase Keikoku Line わたらせ渓谷線 sen is a Japanese railway line connecting Kiryu Station in Kiryu Gunma and Matō Station in Nikkō Tochigi This is the only railway line that the third sector company Watarase Keikoku Railway わたらせ渓谷鐵道 Watarase Keikoku Tetsudō operates The company and line are also known as Watakei わた渓 or Watetsu わ鐵 The company acquired the line from the East Japan Railway Company JR East in 1989 As the name suggests the line runs along the Watarase River through a deep valley Watarase Keikoku LineWatarase Keikoku Railway Wa 89 313 train OverviewNative nameわたらせ渓谷線TerminiKiryuMatōStations17HistoryOpened15 April 1911 111 years ago 1911 04 15 TechnicalLine length44 1 km 27 4 mi Number of tracks1Track gauge1 067 mm 3 ft 6 in Operating speed75 km h 47 mph Maximum Train protection systemATS PATS S N Contents 1 History 2 Basic data 3 Station list 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditThe Ashio Railway Co opened the line to Ashio Motoyama 2 km beyond Mato in 1911 12 to service the Ashio Copper Mine and leased the line to JNR in 1913 Passenger services were introduced in 1914 and the line was nationalised in 1918 The copper mine closed in 1973 the same year the line was deviated for the construction of the Kusaki Dam including the 5242m Kusaki Tunnel In 1989 the Ashio Motoyama Mato section was closed and the operation of the balance of the line was transferred to the Watarase Keikoku Railway Co Basic data EditDistance 44 1 km Gauge 1 067 mm Stations 17 Double tracking None Electrification None Railway signalling Kiryu Shimo Shinden Automatic Shimo Shinden Matō Simplified AutomaticStation list EditTrains stop at stations marked and pass those marked Local trains stop at all stations other than Shimo Shinden Signal Box Station No Station Japanese Watarase Keikoku gō Transfers LocationWK01 Kiryu 桐生 East Japan Railway Company JR East Ryōmō LineJōmō Electric Railway Jōmō Line Nishi Kiryu Kiryu Gunma Shimo Shinden Signal Box 下新田信号場 WK02 Shimo Shinden 下新田 WK03 Aioi 相老 Tōbu Railway Kiryu LineWK04 Undō Kōen 運動公園 Jōmō Electric Railway Jōmō Line Kiryu Kyujō Mae WK05 Ōmama 大間々 Tōbu Kiryu Line Akagi Jōmō Electric Railway Jōmō Line Akagi MidoriWK06 Kami Kambai 上神梅 WK07 Motojuku 本宿 KiryuWK08 Mizunuma 水沼 WK09 Hanawa 花輪 MidoriWK10 Nakano 中野 WK11 Konaka 小中 WK12 Gōdo 神戸 WK13 Sōri 沢入 WK14 Haramukō 原向 Nikkō TochigiWK15 Tsudō 通洞 WK16 Ashio 足尾 WK17 Matō 間藤 References EditThis article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia External links EditWatarase Keikoku Railway official website in Japanese This article about a Japanese railway line related topic is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Watarase Keikoku Line amp oldid 1139444663, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
