The Kinugawa Line (鬼怒川線) is a line run by Tobu Railway (東武鉄道). It runs from Shimo-Imaichi Station to Shin-Fujiwara Station in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, and lies entirely within Nikko City.
History
The line began as a materials tramway for building the Shimotaki power station of the Kinugawa Hydroelectric Power Company. That power station is now the Kinugawa Power Station of Tokyo Electric Power. In 1915 the company was granted a licence for a steam tramway with a 762 mm gauge, from Imaichi to Fujiwara. On 30 October 1915 it was renamed the Shimotsuke Tramway Company (下野軌道). The first section, from Otanigawa to Nakaiwa, opened on 2 January 1917. Freight, especially materials for the power station, was the main business. Nakaiwa to Ohara opened on 1 November 1917. Then in June 1918 two refineries that had made up most of the freight stopped operating, and freight fell sharply.
The Ohara to Shimotaki section opened on 17 March 1919, and Otanigawa to Shin-Imaichi on 1 October 1919. The Shimotaki to Fujiwara section opened on 28 December 1919 in one part of the Japanese Wikipedia article, and on 1 January 1920 in another. The company was renamed the Shimotsuke Electric Railway (下野電気鉄道) on 6 June 1921. The Shin-Imaichi to Shin-Fujiwara section was electrified at 600 V on 9 March 1922. Electric trains did not run at first; electric locomotives hauled passenger trains. On 19 March 1922 the section opened as a railway under the Local Railways Act. Kozakoshi-mae station opened on 11 November 1924.
In 1925 the company took up a new business, taxi services, and began them on 11 March 1926. Its rail line used one electric train alongside electric locomotive trains, but competition from bus routes along the line kept profits low. In 1927 the capital was increased, and the head office moved into the Tobu Railway head office in Honjo Ward, Tokyo. Otaki station was renamed Kinugawa Onsen station on 19 February 1927. On 7 July 1929 Ogurimachi station opened as a transfer point with the Tobu Nikko Line. On 22 October 1929 the line ran into Shimo-Imaichi station, which became its starting point, and the Shin-Imaichi to Otanigawa right bank section was closed. The gauge was changed to 1,067 mm, and the line ran through with Tobu's Nikko Line. Ogurimachi station closed at that time. On 5 May 1930 the Shin-Takatoku to Shin-Fujiwara section was re-gauged. Kinu Osei station opened on 6 July 1930. On 1 March 1931 Otanimukai station opened. In 1931 the line was raised to 1,500 V so it could run through with the Tobu system, and new cars were bought from Kawasaki. On 1 January 1933 Shimohara station was renamed Kinu Tachiiwa.
Competition from bus operators grew after Kinugawa and Kawaji hot springs became known. The company also suffered from the Showa financial crisis, which began around 1920 and hit the mines along the line hard. It paid almost no dividends, and most of it had relied on government subsidies since the Taisho years. Under the Transport Coordination Act, Tobu Railway bought the company on 1 May 1943, and it was dissolved. The same day, it began operating as the Tobu Kinugawa Line. Kinugawa Park station opened in 1939.
On 25 October 1944 Kinu Osei and Kinugawa Park stations were suspended. The Asakusa to Kinugawa Onsen limited express began on 6 August 1948. On 1 February 1949 the limited express Kinu started, and it was renamed Kinu in 1951. Kinugawa Park station reopened on 1 September 1950. Kinu Osei station was abolished on 16 November 1954. Kinugawa Park station was suspended on 1 December 1961 and reopened on 10 December 1962. On 8 October 1964 Tachiiwa station became a signal station, and Kinugawa Onsen station was moved 1.2 km toward Shimo-Imaichi. The section from Tachiiwa signal station to Kinugawa Onsen was doubled over 0.8 km.
On 9 October 1986 the Yagan Railway (野岩鉄道) Aizu-Kinugawa Line opened, and through running began. On 12 October 1990 the Aizu Railway (会津鉄道) Aizu Line was electrified between Aizu-Takayama and Aizu-Tajima, and through running via the Yagan Railway's Aizu-Kinugawa Line began. On 1 March 2005 the AIZU Mount Express began running. Diesel train service returned to Tobu for the first time since the Kumagai Line closed in 1983. Driving and conductor duties were entrusted to the Aizu Railway, because of rules on vehicles and licences. On 18 March 2006 the JR Shinjuku direct limited express Kinugawa and Spacia Kinugawa began running. On 11 March 2011 the Tohoku earthquake (東北地方太平洋沖地震) struck, and on 14 March 2011 Tokyo Electric Power carried out rotating planned blackouts. Through running with the Yagan and Aizu lines and the limited expresses were suspended. Through running resumed on 20 March 2011, and the Kinu limited express resumed on 22 March 2011.
On 17 March 2012 the AIZU Mount Express was increased, and one of its services ran through to Tobu-Nikko station on the Tobu Nikko Line. Station numbering was introduced on the same day. On 9 September 2015 heavy rain washed away an embankment between Shin-Takatoku and Kozakoshi, and washed out track ballast between Kozakoshi and Kinugawa Onsen. The whole line was closed until service resumed on 18 September 2015. On 21 April 2017 the station numbers of Kinugawa Onsen, Kinugawa Park and Shin-Fujiwara were moved ahead of the opening of Tobu World Square station. On 21 July 2017 the Cultural Affairs Council advised that 7 bridges, overpass and station structures on the line be registered as national tangible cultural properties. They were registered on 27 October 2017. On 22 July 2017 Tobu World Square station opened. On 10 August 2017 the SL Taiju steam train began running. On 6 June 2020 regular operation of the DL Taiju was set, but it was suspended for the time being. Regular operation began on 31 October 2020. On 12 March 2022 the timetable changed. Ordinary trains, except those through to the Yagan Railway at Kinugawa Onsen, were unified onto the 20400 series, and all became one-man operation. Ordinary trains into the Aizu Railway's Aizu Line ended, and the AIZU Mount Express stopped running to Tobu-Nikko.
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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.