The Kanamachi Line (金町線) is a Keisei Electric Railway (京成電鉄) line. It runs between Keisei Takasago Station and Keisei Kanamachi Station, all within Katsushika ward, Tokyo.
History
The Kanamachi Line began as a human-powered tramway. Nippon Railway (日本鉄道) opened Kanamachi station in 1897, and the number of pilgrims to Shibamata Taishakuten grew. To improve transport, the Taishaku Human-Powered Railway (帝釈人車鉄道) was set up in 1899. It began running between Shibamata and Kanamachi on 17 December 1899, on a 610 mm gauge. The track was double, with loops at the ends for turning back. Each car held six people, and there were 64 cars, usually pushed by one person. In 1907 the company was renamed the Taishaku Human-Powered Tramway (帝釈人車軌道).
In 1909 Keisei Electric Railway (京成電気軌道) was set up to carry pilgrims to Narita-san and Shibamata Taishakuten. It planned a line to Kanamachi via Taishakuten. In 1912 the Taishaku company transferred its tramway licence for Shibamata to Kanamachi to Keisei, on 27 April 1912. On 3 November 1912 the Magari to Shibamata section opened, electrified from the start, on a 1372 mm gauge. In the same year Keisei opened Oshiage to Ichikawa (now Edogawa) and the Magari to Shibamata branch. On 26 June 1913 Magari station was renamed Takasago. On 21 October 1913 the Shibamata to Kanamachi section opened on the rebuilt former human-powered track. Human-powered service ended in 1913, and the section became a single-track electric line.
On 18 November 1931 Takasago and Kanamachi stations were renamed Keisei Takasago and Keisei Kanamachi. On 20 February 1945 the whole line changed from the tramway law to the Local Railway Act. On 17 November 1959 the whole line was changed to the 1435 mm gauge.
In December 2006 Keisei announced that the Kanamachi Line alone would have its tracks raised near Keisei Takasago, before the main line was raised. The aim was to stop crossing closures from growing longer after the Narita Airport Line (成田空港線) opened in July 2010. On 30 June 2009 a special limited express ran to Keisei Kanamachi with a 3300 series car in revival colours, to mark Keisei's 100th anniversary. From 3 to 4 July 2010 a temporary timetable ran on single track while the work was done. On 5 July 2010 the elevated platform for the Kanamachi Line at Keisei Takasago opened, and the whole line became single track. The line got its own ticket gates, separate from the other lines, and all trains turned back within the line. Before this, outside the rush hours only one train ran on the three-station line. Now two trains run, except in the early morning and late at night, passing each other at Shibamata.
On 26 November 2022 one-man operation began for daytime trains.
See the live map and facts in the Data view →
Written by an AI from the line's history on Japanese Wikipedia, nothing else, and checked by a program for dates and numbers that are not in those facts. It can still be wrong. Adapted from Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0; this text is shared under the same licence.