Shuichi Takashima · 2016. 3. 15. · Yamagata and Akita to terminate at Aomori. The 271.7-km Uetsu main line follows the Sea-of-Japan coast, avoiding the steep inland mountains

40 Japan Railway & Transport Review 29 • December 2001

Railway Operators

Railw

a y Operators

Copyright © 2001 EJRCF. All rights reserved.

Railway Operators in Japan 3

Tohoku and Niigata RegionShuichi Takashima

Railway Lines in Tohoku and Niigata Regions

HokuetsuHokuetsuExpressExpressHokuetsuExpress

Konan Konan RailwayRailway

Hanawa Hanawa LineLineHanawa Line

SendaiSendai

Aomori

AkitaMorioka

Hachinohe

ShinjoShinjoShinjo

NiigataNiigataNiigata

Aizu Aizu WakamatsuakamatsuAizu Wakamatsu

KoriyamaKoriyamaKoriyama

FukushimaFukushimaFukushima

YamagataamagataYamagataSendai

Hirosaki

Tsugaru Linesugaru LineTsugaru Line Ominato LineOminato LineOminato Line

Gono LineGono LineGono Line

Tohoku main line

Ou main line

Hachinohe LineHachinohe LineHachinohe Line

Yamada Line

Iwaizumi LineIwaizumi LineIwaizumi Line

Oga LineOga LineOga Line

Uetsu main lineUetsu main lineUetsu main line

Tazawakoazawako Line LineTazawako Line

Kitakami Kitakami LineLineKitakami Line

Kamaishi Line

Tohoku Shinkansen

Akita Shinkansen

Rikuusai Line

Echigo LineEchigo LineEchigo Line

Joetsu LineJoetsu LineJoetsu Line

Aterazawa Aterazawa LineLineAterazawa Line

Yonesaka Line Yamagata amagata

ShinkansenShinkansenYamagata Shinkansen

Joetsu Shinkansen

Ofunato Line

Senseki Line

Suigun Line

Shin'etsu main line

Tadami Lineadami LineTadami Line

Ban'etsusai Ban'etsusai LineLine

Ban'etsusai Line

Ishinomaki Line

Joban LineJoban LineJoban Line

Kesennuma LineKesennuma Line

Senzan Senzan LineLineSenzan Line

Rikuuto Rikuuto LineLine

Rikuuto LineHakushin

Line

Tsugaru Railwaysugaru RailwayTsugaru Railway

Konan Railway

Towada Sightseeing Electric Railway

Sanriku Railway

Akita Inland Through Railway

Yuri Highland Railway

Kurihara Den'en Railway

Yamagata amagata RailwayRailwayYamagata Railway

Abukuma Express

Ban'etsuto Line

Fukushima Transport

Aizu Railway

JR Conventional lines

Mini shinkansen lines

Shinkansen lines

Private lines

Closed lines

Pacific Ocean

Sea of Japan

Overview

General description of TohokuregionThe Tohoku region of Japan is comprisedof six prefectures in the northern part ofthe main island of Honshu: Aomori,Akita, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima andYamagata. Tohoku is the rice basket ofJapan, producing more rice than anyother region. Even so, Tohoku is oftenviewed as ‘the boonies’ as its old nameof Michinoku (end of the road) implies.Of course, the old name springs partlyfrom prejudice, but it is true that thetopography is noted for its uplands andhigh, steep mountain ranges. Theseconditions combined with heavy wintersnows make transport difficult and havecreated a poor regional economy. Eventoday, average incomes in the region arelower than in other parts of Japan.Reliable transport is an important part ofovercoming these disadvantages anddevelopment of transport networks isclosely linked to regional development.The neighbouring Niigata Prefecture isreally part of Japan’s Chubu centralregion, but since eastern NiigataPrefecture is tied closely to Tohoku’stransport network, I include it in thisdiscussion. Niigata Prefecture is also alarge rice producer.The seven prefectures have a total areaof about 80,000 km2 and a totalpopulation of some 12 million.

Outline of railwaysMany of Tohoku’s high mountain rangesrun north–south, so east–west traffic isforced to cross rugged highlands. Dueto the topography, the transport corridorsgenerally have a north–south alignment.We get a better idea of the transportnetwork if we visualize it as three north–south trunk lines (Tohoku, Ou and Uetsumain lines), and a number of east–westbranch lines crossing the region.

The 739.2-km Tohoku main line (Tokyo–Aomori) runs mostly between Tohoku’seastern highlands and the Ou Rangeforming the central spine of the Tohokuregion. The main line passes through theprefectural capitals of Fukushima, Sendaiand Morioka to terminate in Aomori.The 484.5-km Ou main line (Fukushima–Aomori) branches from the Tohoku mainline at Fukushima, crosses the mountainsto the west and then turns north, hemmedin by mountains on both sides. It passesthrough the prefectural capitals ofYamagata and Akita to terminate atAomori.The 271.7-km Uetsu main line followsthe Sea-of-Japan coast, avoiding the steepinland mountains. It runs from Niitsu

Station in Niigata Prefecture to Akita,passing through several large cities.Several north–south lines serve thePacific coast but the most important isthe 343.1-km Joban Line linking NipporiStation in Tokyo and Iwanuma Stationnear Sendai. Other lines serve thesparsely populated Pacific coastal districtbut face severe financial difficulties.As mentioned, the north–south lines formthe basic traffic corridors and connectwith a number of east–west branch lines.Niigata is linked to Tokyo via the Takasakiand Joetsu lines, and the Shin’etsu mainline. Steep, high mountains separateNiigata from Tokyo, so the first linebetween the two cities made a widedetour to the west through Nagano. Later

41Japan Railway & Transport Review 29 • December 2001Copyright © 2001 EJRCF. All rights reserved.

construction of long mountain tunnelssolved this problem. After the Tohokuand Joetsu shinkansen were opened in1982, they took much of the intercitypassenger traffic that had been carried bythe non-shinkansen lines. However,since shinkansen trains do not carryfreight, freight trains now play a greaterrole on these lines.This article on urban transport focuses onSendai, the largest city in the Tohokuregion and the prefectural capital ofMiyagi Prefecture. Sendai has extensivesuburbs and benefits from frequentrailway services. It also has a subway.Railways play a very minor role in localtransport outside the major populationcentres with most residents depending oncars. In the Tohoku region, passengersusing public transport (including buses)are mostly young or elderly—in otherwords, people without driving licences.Trains are at an advantage only when amotor vehicle is inconvenient, such aswhen travelling long distances or in largecities where roads are often verycongested. Consequently, railways insparsely populated regions are in extremefinancial difficulties.

Railway operatorsThe majority of railway lines in theTohoku region are operated by JR East,which took over the region’s rail networkfrom Japanese National Railways (JNR)at the 1987 privatization. JR East alsoserves the Tokyo metropolitan area whereit enjoys a huge and stable captivemarket. The shinkansen and otherintercity operations are doing relativelywell in Tohoku as are services in theSendai area. Even so, JR East’s Tohokuoperations are a huge financial burdenbecause of the many long, hardly usedlines. JR East cannot abandon theseunprofitable lines easily because of theirimportant social role, so it continues tooperate them while trying to rationalizeservices as much as possible.

Tohoku is also served by 11 small andmedium private railways. The CityTransportation Bureau operates theSendai subway.

Interurban Transport

Tohoku and Joetsu shinkansenThe Tohoku and Joetsu shinkansen bothopened in 1982. Right from the start, JNRknew these shinkansen would not beprofitable because of the relatively minoreconomic role played by the areas theyserve. The mot ive behind thei rconstruction was to establish closer tieswith Tokyo and promote regionaldevelopment. Consequently, the twoshinkansen stand in stark contrast to theTokaido (Tokyo–Osaka) and San’yo(Osaka–Fukuoka) shinkansen, whichwere buil t to serve areas of higheconomic activity.The Tohoku and Joetsu shinkansen willsoon have been in operation for twodecades and we should ask whether theyhave achieved their original goals.

In 1980, Sendai’s population was 664,000but had risen to more than 1 million by1999. (However, it should be noted thatSendai absorbed several neighbouringtowns and small cities during this period.)In 1989, Sendai was the first city in theTohoku reg ion to be named an‘ordinance-designated city.’ Under thisdes ignat ion, Sendai has grea teradministrative powers and enjoys thestatus of ‘metropolis’ (only 12 cities inJapan have this designation). In 1980,Niigata’s population was 145,000 buthad risen to 195,000 in 2000. Elsewhere,too, the fast shinkansen trains havedeveloped tourism and contributed tolocal economies. Many skiers take thetrains from Tokyo to Niigata Prefectureand ski resorts and hotels have sprungup near Echigo Yuzawa Station on theJoetsu Shinkansen.Therefore, it is true to say that theeconomies of the Tohoku region andNiigata have been stimulated to someextent by almost 20 years of shinkansenoperations. Of course, during this sameperiod highways and open roads also

Series E2 for Yamabiko services on Tohoku Shinkansen and Asahi services on Joetsu Shinkansen (JR East)


Railway Operators


saw development, so we cannot give theshinkansen all the credit for the upturn.Even so, the overall development of theregion’s transport network has forgedstronger links with Tokyo and improvedthe local economies.The shinkansen trains have also changedover the same 20-year period. When thetwo shinkansen lines opened, themaximum speed was 210 km/h but themaximum speed increased to 275 km/hdue to development of new rolling stock.The fastest trains now travel betweenTokyo and Morioka in about 2 hours 25minutes, and between Tokyo and Niigatain about 1 hour 40 minutes.The original Series-200 shinkansenrolling stock is being replaced gradually.In the early days, the goal was toconstruct all shinkansen rolling stock touniform standards whenever possible, butrecent designs emphasize function overuniformity. For example, rolling stock forhigh-speed operations is now designedwith the lowest possible profile to reduceair resistance. In contrast, double-deckershinkansen are being introduced in theTokyo area to increase seating for

commuters. Today’s shinkansen rollingstock can be roughly divided into sixtypes, including trains that can run onboth shinkansen and conventional lines.

Through services on bothshinkansen and conventionallinesWhen the Tohoku Shinkansen beganoperation in 1982, most through serviceson conventional lines from Tohoku toTokyo’s Ueno Station were stopped andreplaced by connections to some of thenew shinkansen stations. For manypassengers this meant an inconvenienttransfer and wait at a shinkansen stationwith the result that travel to the finaldestination could take longer. Theshinkansen did not pass throughYamagata and Akita prefectures and nodefinite plan had been announced tobring the new line to Aomori Prefecture.This led to strident calls for betterconnections so that people in theseprefectures could also benefit from thenew train.Passengers travelling from Tokyo toYamagata (the capital of Yamagata

Prefecture) would take the TohokuShinkansen to Fukushima where theytransferred to the conventional Ou mainline. It was soon realized that thisinconvenient transfer could be eliminatedif a train could be developed for use onboth the shinkansen line and the Ou mainline to Yamagata; planning based on thisconcept began in earnest in 1986. Tooffer through services, major trackmodifications would be required due tothe different track gauges—1435 mm forthe shinkansen track and 1067 mm forthe narrow-gauge track to Yamagata.In f ras t ructure modi f ica t ions andmanufacture of rolling stock weree n t r u s t e d t o a n e w c o m p a n yestablished and funded by JR East andYamagata Prefecture; ownership of themodified facilities and new carriageswas transferred to the new company.This arrangement reduced JR East’sfinancial burden and ensured that a fairshare of the cost was borne by thelocality benefiting from the project. JREast now leases the track section fromthe new company.Through services began in 1992 with thelaunch of Tsubasa (Wing), a limitedexpress that is coupled to the Yamabikoshinkansen for the high-speed run on theTohoku Shinkansen. When the coupledtrains arrive at Fukushima, the Tsubasais uncoupled so that it can proceed onthe Ou main line on its own. Couplingand uncoupling occur on a regular basisat Fukushima Station.The train’s nickname for the Fukushima–Yamagata part of the journey is theYamagata Shinkansen. But this does notmean that the Yamagata–Fukushima runcan be equated with shinkansen servicesbecause the only major change is a widertrack. Shinkansen track has very gradualg rad ien t s and gen t l e cu rves toaccommodate high-speed t ravel ,whereas the Fukushima–Yamagata trackmaintains the standards of a conventionalline but has a gauge of 1435 mm. TheSeries 400 for Yamagata-bound Tsubasa service with shorter body and smaller loading gauge (JR East)


maximum speed is only 130 km/h, farlower than speeds on the shinkansentrack, which regularly exceed 200 km/h.In addition, genuine shinkansen tracksand facilities are grade separated. TheYamagata Shinkansen certainly does notmeet these standards; it has levelcrossings; the grade is not separated;stock and structures must be kept small;train controls and signalling systems aredifferent from the shinkansen; and localtrains use the track during intervalsbetween Tsubasa services. In otherwords, the Yamagata Shinkansen is not ashinkansen at all.Even so, the elimination of the Fukushimatransfer had a very positive effect. Thefastest travel time between Tokyo andYamagata is now less than 2 hours 30minutes, a reduction between of 20 and40 minutes. Another important result,although a psychological one, is thecommon impression that the people inthe two cities enjoy closer contact thanbefore. The transport industries, hotels,ski resorts and other enterprises near thestations have enjoyed increased revenuesand ridership is up throughout the year.The Tsubasa services were extended fromYamagata to Shinjo in 2000. There arenow plans to extend services to Sakata,an important centre on the Sea of Japan.The so-called Akita Shinkansen offers asimilar through service. It leaves theshinkansen track at Morioka and runs onthe Tazawako Line and Ou main line toAkita, the seat of the prefecturalgovernment. Planning for this projectbegan in 1987, and opera t ionscommenced in 1997. Funding for theproject was also raised locally.The Akita Shinkansen has been namedKomachi (Beautiful Woman—alluding tothe beauty that Akita women are famedfor). The fastest travel time betweenTokyo and Akita is now about 3 hours 50minutes although some trains take about4 hours 20 minutes. This reduction ofalmost 1 hour is due to speeds being

raised from 110 to 130 km/h on theMorioka–Akita section and from 240 to275 km/h on the shinkansen line.These two projects have left the Ou mainline with sections of different gauges,meaning that limited expresses that usedto offer through services betweenFukushima and Akita can no longer doso. This is a good example of howintercity rail transport in the region isbeing reorganized to accommodate thenew shinkansen infrastructure.

Debate over shinkansendevelopment standardsIn the 1970s, the government took thelead in promoting construction of theTohoku and Joetsu shinkansen, as part ofits Shinkansen Development Plan, whichproposed extending the bullet trainnetwork throughout the country. Theplan was based on the 1970 NationwideShinkansen Development Law. The newMinistry of Land, Infrastructure andTransport (MLIT) is now of the opinionthat completed sections of the Tohokuand Joetsu shinkansen are not part of theshinkansen system developed under thisplan. However, this opinion is influencedby a variety of political interests and it isa fact that the two lines were part of theoriginal plan. Efforts to promote the planwere suspended temporarily in 1982 dueto lack of funds but were restarted in 1987when JNR was broken up and privatized.The shinkansen has had a very positiveeffect on local economies and lobbyistsare eager to influence the choice of routeand construction schedule. This hasslowed down promotion of the plan’saims as has the tremendous amount ofinvestment required.When the plan was given new life in1987, to reduce construction costs, theformer Ministry of Transport proposedtwo construction methods that would becheaper than building under the fullshinkansen standard.The first method, embodied in the mini-

shinkansen concept, involves wideningexisting narrow-gauge track to permitthrough services from shinkansen track.(This method was later used for theYamagata and Akita shinkansen).The second method, embodied in thelimited-express concept, involvesconstruction of basic infrastructure toshinkansen standards. Narrow-gaugetrack is used during an interim period,so it is not connected to existingshinkansen track. Narrow-gauge trainscan run at about 160 km/h on this track.Later, the infrastructure can be used forfull shinkansen services after the trackshave been widened and connected toexisting shinkansen tracks. The tracksthrough the undersea Seikan Tunnelbetween Honshu and Hokkaido werelaid according to this concept.The Tohoku Shinkansen will soon beextended northward from Morioka toHachinohe (Aomori Prefecture), andthere was considerable debate onwhether the full or mini standard shouldbe adopted. One might expect that alllocal parties would want the full-standardshinkansen, but this is not necessarilytrue—communities served by limitedexpress trains tended to favour the ministandard when they realize that full-standard shinkansen will not stop at theirstations. For a while, mini-standardproponents were in the majority alongthe southern half of the proposed route,but the full standard was finally chosenfor the entire section. Plans call for theTohoku Shinkansen to begin services toHachinohe in December 2002 with theline being extended to Aomori after that.Another question is the future ofconventional lines paralleling the newlines. After a shinkansen line is opened,narrow-gauge trains serving the samecorridor no longer attract intercitytravellers, and they end up catering onlyto sparsely populated areas along thetrack. Fearing a serious drain on financialresources, the JR companies have urged


Railway Operators


that they be allowed to relinquishresponsibility for parallel conventionallines as a condition for operating a newshinkansen line. When the NaganoShinkansen began operating betweenTa k a s a k i a n d N a g a n o , J R E a s trelinquished control of part of the parallelShin’etsu main line, and a similarmeasure will be adopted for the narrow-gauge Morioka–Aomori line. Two otherexamples are the Iwate Galaxy Railroad(IGR) in Iwate Prefecture (the namecomes from the novel Ginga tetsudo noyoru (Night of the Milky Way Railway)by Iwate-born writer Kenji Miyazawa(1896–1933), and the Aoi Mori Railwayin Aomori Prefecture (the name comesfrom another reading of the two Chinesecharacters for Aomori). Both railwayswere established in cooperation withtheir respective prefectures. However,there is some doubt about whether theselines will be able to make profits.Rail freight is another contentious issue.Shinkansen only carry passengers, sofreight trains will continue to play animportant role on conventional lines forsome time to come. JR Freight pays JR

East track fees for operating on JR Easttracks, but a fee increase is unavoidableafter shinkansen services are extendednorth from Morioka and a new companytakes over the parallel narrow-gauge line.JR Freight has asked for subsidies,pointing out that its transportation costswill increase due to circumstances beyondits control and plans call for public moneyto be used to cover the increase.

Narrow-gauge limited expresstrains and shinkansenThe Series 485 Hatsukari (First WildGeese) and Series E751 Super Hatsukariconnect Hakodate in Hokkaido andAomori to the Tohoku Shinkansente rminus in Mor ioka , bu t whenHachinohe becomes the new terminus,both trains will probably terminate there.The Series 485 Kamoshika (Antelope)from Aomori to Akita links a number ofcities in western Aomori Prefecture andconnects with the Akita Shinkansen. TheSeries 485 Viva Aizu connects Koriyamaon the Tohoku Shinkansen with AizuWakamatsu, a fairly large city in theinterior of Fukushima Prefecture.

Many nar row-gauge t ra ins o f fe rconnections to stations on the JoetsuShinkansen. One Niigata–Tohoku trainis the Series 485 Inaho (Rice Ear) limitedexpress, which uses the Hakushin Lineand Uetsu main line. Inaho links Niigatawith Sakata and other cities on the Seaof Japan and terminates in Akita.I should also mention two limited expressnight trains with sleeping cars, each ofwhich makes one return trip per daybetween Aomori and Ueno (Tokyoterminus). These are the Series 24Hakutsuru (White Crane) on the Tohokumain line and the Series 24 Akebono(Dawn) on the Joetsu and Uetsu main lines.

Urban Transport

Sendai stands out in rail ridershipThe average daily passenger at JR EastSendai Station was approximately95,000 in 1999. It shows that Sendaistands far above the rest in numbers ofrail passengers. Sendai’s metropolitanarea has a radius of about 15 km, andmost commuter travel occurs withinthis range. Plans are moving ahead toconstruct a railway line to SendaiInternational Airport.

JR East’s transit operations inSendaiJR East transit passengers use three linesin the Sendai metropolitan area—theSenseki and Senzan lines, and Tohokumain line.The 50.2-km Senseki Line stretches fromAoba Dori in downtown Sendai toIshinomaki in the northeast. The western12.6-km section between Aoba Dori andTagajo supports frequent rail services withtrains running about every 5 minutesduring the morning commute. Thesection near Sendai Station was greatlyimproved recently. The western terminuswas situated just east of Sendai Station,but redevelopment included a plan to

Series E751 Super Hatsukari limited express on Tohoku main line between Ken’yoshi and Suwanotaira(JR East)


JR Conventional lines

Izumi Chuo

Yaotome

Kuromatsu

Asahigaoka

Dainohara

Kita Sendai

Aoba Dori

to Yamagata

Kotodai-koen

Hirose Dori

Itsutsubashi

Atagobashi

Kawaramachi

Nagamachi 1-chome

Nagamachi

Nagamachi Minami

Tomizawa

Toshogu

to Morioka

to Ishimaki

to Fukushima

Senseki Line

Senzan Line

Shinkansen

Subway

Sendai

Sendai

Tohoku Shinkansen

Tohoku main line

Kita Yobancho

Railway Network in Sendai

relocate part of the line underground andextend it to a new terminus west of thestation. Completed in 2000, the projecthas eliminated a number of crossings andextended services by 0.5 km to Aoba Doriin the downtown core. Commuter carsused previously in Tokyo with four doorsper side and long seats now run on thisline, providing an unusual sight for aregional centre.The 62.8-km Senzan Line links Sendai toYamagata. Train frequencies are high onthe Sendai end of the line, especially onthe 15.2-km section between Sendai andAyashi. This section serves an area thatis being developed as a residential districtfor commuters. The previous cars hadtwo doors on each side and a vestibuleat each end (typical of long-distancetrains), but the new cars are ideal forcommuters, with three doors on each sideand no vestibule.Frequencies are high on the 41-kmIwanuma–Matsushima section of theTohoku main line straddling Sendai.Trains from other lines offer throughservices to the Tohoku main line and theolder cars have been replaced.

Sendai City TransportationBureau (subway)Sendai used to have trams but the lastones were retired in 1976. From thenon, the Transportation Bureau offeredonly bus services until it opened a north–south subway in 1987. The 14.8-kmsubway traverses the city and the line hasbeen extended to one new station sinceit opened. Trains run from Izumi Chuoto Tomizawa and some stations connectwith JR stations and bus routes. Thepopulation has increased along the line.There are plans for another subway lineto traverse the city in an east–westdirection and the municipal governmentis pushing to start construction in 2004.To keep costs low, it intends to constructa small cross-section tunnel similar to theOedo Line already operating in Tokyo.

Future airport accessSendai International Airport is locatedsouth-east of the city beyond themunicipal boundary. The travel timefrom central Sendai is about 40 minutesby car, but a planned rail link will reducethis. In 2000, local governments and

corporations joined JR East to establishSendai Airport Transit Co., Ltd., thecompany that will operate the railway.Plans call for the construction of a singleelectrified 7.1-km track to link NatoriStation on the Tohoku main line to theairport. Trains from Sendai Station willprovide through services to the airport inabout 20 minutes. The opening isscheduled for 2006.

Subway platform at Sendai Station (Sendai City Transportation Bureau)


Railway Operators


Local Lines

JR EastWith the exception of Sendai, railridership is not high in major Tohokucities, so it is easy to imagine the difficultsi tuation facing l ines in sparselypopulated areas. The situation isespecially critical for all the east–westlines—the vast majority have just a single,non-electrified track and offer infrequentservices. Many of these lines run longdistances through depopulated areas.Let’s look at a few examples. To travelby train from Morioka to Hirosaki, a fairlyla rge cent re in wes te rn Aomor iPrefecture, the railway map suggests thatthe best route would be the Hanawa Linefrom Morioka to Odate, and then the Oumain line to Hirosaki. But most travellersavoid this route—the Hanawa Line offersonly seven return runs each day, and the128.2-km trip from Morioka to Odatetakes about 3 hours. The trip from Odateto Hirosaki takes another 30 minutes.On the other hand, convenient highwaybuses link Morioka and Hirosaki in just2 hours 20 minutes, with almost hourlyservices from around 07:00 to 20:00.Buses also offer about 14 daily return runsbetween Morioka and Odate, parallelingthe railway’s Hanawa Line, and the fastest

buses cover the distance in exactly 2hours. The bus and train fares are similar,so the bus is obviously far morecompetitive. Although introduction offaster trains might be an answer, the manysharp curves and steep gradients makethis a difficult challenge.The 102.2-km Yamada Line l inksMorioka and Miyako, the most importantcity on the Pacific coast of IwatePrefecture. This line is also in severefinancial straits and there are only fourdaily return runs. Buses on the roadparalleling the line make the Morioka–Miyako return journey more than 20times a day, robbing the Yamada Line ofany reason to exist. The 38.4-kmIwaizumi Line branches from the YamadaLine at Moichi, a short distance inlandfrom Miyako. It offers only four returnruns each day. JR East has stated its desireto abandon the Iwaizumi Line and localresidents fear that this could one day leadto closure of the Yamada Line as well.The Tadami Line links Aizu Wakamatsu(Fukushima Prefecture) with NiigataPrefecture and is said to have some ofthe best scenery in Japan, partly becausethere are few houses. The sectionstraddling the Fukushima–Niigata borderhas the lowest train frequency with onlythree runs in each direction each day.During the worst winters, 50 cm of snow

can fall in one night and expensivesnowploughs must be used to ensureuninterrupted service. The line is veryunprofitable for JR East and trafficvolumes are so low that it easily meetsthe abandonment criteria established byJNR just before privatization. But theroad paralleling the line is in poor shapeso the line is still in operation.On some lines, JR East is trying novelways to attract more tourists and boostridership. An example is a steam loco-hauled train running on the 111-kmsect ion between Ni i t su (Ni iga taPrefecture) and Aizu Wakamatsu(Fukushima Prefecture) at the western endof the Ban’etsusai Line.

Private railwaysEleven other private railways also offerrail services in the Tohoku region. (Thereare also seven freight-only railways.) Allthese private passenger railways areextremely small compared to the privaterailway companies serving large urbancentres in Japan.Tohoku ’s private railways can beseparated into two groups based onfunding: private railways financed byprivate capital—they have a long historyand many were constructed before WWII; and Private railways established bylocal governments—some were existinglines abandoned during JNR’s last daysand others were partially constructed byJNR and then abandoned because ofpoor finances. These private railwayshave launched intensive restructuringprogrammes to maintain operations at atime when ridership is slumping but somehave been forced to close in the last few years.First, let’s look at several railwaysfinanced by private capital. The KonanRailway serves Hirosaki (a major centrein western Aomori Prefecture) and itsenvirons. The company operates twolines. The 16.8-km Kuroishi Line linksHirosaki and Kuroishi to serve an areanot covered by JR East’s Ou main line. It

Series Kiha 58 Gurutto Sanriku Train on Yamada Line between Kuzakai and Matsukusa (JR East)


offers far more frequent services atintervals of about 30 minutes than the JRline. The Owani Line stretches fromChuo Hirosaki Station, which is close toJR East’s Hirosaki Station in downtownHirosaki, to Owani, a neighbouringmunicipality. It runs close to JR East’sOu main line, but is far more competitivebecause it has many more stations andoperates much more frequently. JR East’strains from Hirosaki to Owani Onsen takeabout 12 minutes with only one stop andthe service is very infrequent. Trains onthe private Owani Line take 30 minutesto cover the 13.9-km distance but offer11 stops and run at intervals of about 30minutes during the day.We might get the impression that theKonan Railway is similar to privaterailways in large Japanese cities but thisis not the case. Its two lines serve asparsely populated area with high levelsof private-car ownership. Rail ridershipis falling, partly because there are fewerchildren (a tendency seen throughoutJapan). Another feature of the trains thatsets them apart from metropolitan trainsis the small number of cars—usually twoand four at most. The company can offerfrequent services by running short trainsand it boosts demand by stopping atmany stations.Similarly, Fukushima Transportation

operates a 9.2-km l ine betweenFukushima and Iizaka Onsen. Althoughthe company’s main business is runningbus services, it maintains ridership on itsrailway line by using Konan Railway’stactic of frequent services with shorttrains. In order to keep costs down, bothKonan Ra i lway and Fukush imaTransportation bought used rolling stockfrom Tokyu Corporation (a major privaterailway in Tokyo).Tsugaru Railway operates a 20.7-km linefrom Tsugaru Goshogawara to TsugaruNakazato near the northwestern tip ofHonshu in Aomori Prefecture. The lineruns northwards into an area where thereis no JR line. It is very remote with nopopulation centre so it faces a toughfinancial situation. The line was featuredin the novel Tsugaru by Osamu Dazai(1909–48) but the few literature buffswho r ide the t ra in are cer ta inlyinsufficient to keep the line in profit. Tokeep the railway running, the companysometimes organizes media events thatattract users. For example, it installedan old coal-burning stove to heat the carsin order to give passengers an experienceof Tohoku travel from years gone by.What of the second group of privatera i lways es tab l i shed by a loca lgovernment? A good example is SanrikuRailway which operates the 71-km Kita

Rias Line from Miyako to Kuji, and the36.6-km Minami Rias Line from Kamaishito Sakari, both on the Pacific coast ofIwate Prefecture. These lines were takenover from JNR when it froze constructionin 1980 under the Law for SpecialMeasures to Promote JNR Rehabilitation.JNR started construction of the Kita RiasLine from the north and south ends butthe middle 32.2-km section was leftunfinished because of lack of funds sothe north and south sections were closed.The reaction of the Iwate prefecturalgovernment and municipalities locatedalong the line was to establish the SanrikuRailway Co., Ltd., acquire ownership ofthe entire line, and promote constructionof the incomplete section. The lineopened in 1984. This was the first caseof a private company being formed toassume control of an abandoned JNRline. The new company’s financialposition was favourable at first, partlybecause of restructuring policies thatincluded staff downsizing and anincrease in fares, and partly becausepassengers were attracted by theexcitement of the new venture. Itappeared that the company had found thekey to success and a number of otherclosed JNR lines were taken over underthe initiative of local governments indifferent parts of Japan and then placed

Railway Network in Hirosaki

to Goshogawara

to Aomori

to Odate

Kawabe

Chuo HirosakiHirosaki

Kuroishi

Owani Onsen

Ou main line

Gono Line

Owani Line

Konan Line

JR Conventional linesKonan RailwayClosed line

Konan Railway’s Series 7000 EMU standing at Chuo Hirosaki Station (Author)


Railway Operators


in Japan’s railway industry.However, the new company has notattracted growing numbers of passengers.

Ridership has declined year-on-year andis now only half of what it was 17 yearsago. The decline is becoming more

in the hands of newly establishedcompanies. Therefore, in some sense,Sanriku Railway played an influential role

Statistics for Railways in Tohoku

Passenger Volume and Density by Railway Company

Number of Capital Operating Revenues Operating Expenses Operating Profits/Losses Ordinary Profits/ LossesRoute-km Employees (¥1,000) (¥1,000) (¥1,000) (¥1,000) (¥1,000)

Railway Non-railway Railway Non-railway Railway Non-railway

Tsugaru Railway 20.7 40 50,000 197,683 — 198,991 — -1,308 — -421

Konan Railway 30.7 81 175,000 730,549 7,544 775,582 3,849 -45,033 3,694 -48,290

Towada Sightseeing14.7 24 679,800 179,978 5,658,534 250,107 7,797,080 -70,129 -138,546 -442,107 Electric Railway

Sanriku Railway 107.6 83 300,000 509,463 43,197 535,164 36,176 -25,701 7,019 -15,558

Kurihara Den’en25.7 24 246,000 88,011 6,278 152,452 5,203 -64,441 1,075 -60,944Railway

Sendai City14.8 323 — 12,373,933 11,099,455 12,121,301 13,357,049 252,632 -2,257,594 -10,367,644Transportation Bureau

Abukuma Express 54.9 93 1,500,000 923,588 20,989 956,568 25,071 -32,980 -4,082 -30,164

Fukushima Transport 9.2 63 2,700,000 657,628 8,778,456 580,633 8,826,242 76,995 -47,786 -82,431

Aizu Railway 57.4 56 1,500,000 549,088 57,159 759,125 48,471 -210,037 8,688 -191,601

Akita Inland Through23.0 86 300,000 259,229 74,463 552,850 77,079 -293,621 -2,61, -290,413Railway

Yuri Highland Railway 94.2 25 100,000 107,927 — 165,958 — -58,031 — -58,348

Yamagata Railway 30.5 30 478,450 210,157 5,787 290,280 4,797 -80,123 990 -63,687

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

Tsugaru Railway No. of Passengers (1,000) 1,142 1,096 1,007 958 932 904 808 730 688 638Passenger Density* 1,304 1,246 1,155 1,103 1,132 1,116 1,057 967 931 857

Konan Railway Volume 5,193 5,115 5,161 6,972 4,774 4,663 4,474 4,032 3,708 3,494Density 3,198 3,168 3,192 3,102 3,015 2,945 2,865 2,622 2,933 2,794

Towada Sightseeing Volume 966 967 934 953 924 899 870 810 771 744Electric Railway Density 1,880 1,899 1,874 1,905 1,826 1,765 1,687 1,541 1,505 1,477

Sanriku Railway Volume 2,307 2,259 2,227 2,070 1,926 1,805 1,771 1,688 1,553 1,438Density 942 930 919 849 775 726 705 686 623 577

Kurihara Den’en Volume 342 354 336 327 348 324 306 276 277 261Railway Density 320 348 356 360 398 369 340 309 304 284

Sendai City Volume 46,901 51,035 52,771 54,428 55,519 56,962 57,667 58,293 56,963 56,851Transportation Bureau Density 41,572 45,109 47,007 47,444 48,315 51,849 52,942 54,758 54,477 54,942

Abukuma Express Volume 2,797 3,069 3,189 3,192 3,163 3,251 3,231 3,169 3,108 3,050Density 2,049 2,266 2,350 2,351 2,304 2,322 2,315 2,270 2,245 2,190

Fukushima Transport Volume 4,378 4,521 4,504 4,407 4,275 4,242 4,033 3,994 3,843 3,612Density 6,521 6,721 6,747 6,603 6,416 6,340 6,020 5,937 5,716 5,418

Aizu Railway Volume 1,115 1,209 1,208 1,164 1,147 1,143 1,051 1,029 958 976Density 1,258 1,372 1,399 1,313 1,291 1,267 1,165 1,153 1,073 1,114

Akita Inland Through Volume 1,023 1,052 1,032 1,012 1,016 981 942 903 861 841Railway Density 515 524 510 498 494 478 453 469 496 458

Yuri Highland Railway Volume 573 564 586 589 600 617 595 538 485 477Density 869 862 921 978 996 1,049 1,000 916 809 811

Yamagata Railway Volume 1,442 1,378 1,372 1,320 1,374 1,307 1,321 1,173 1,141 1,068Density 1,298 1,249 1,254 1,209 1,249 1,188 1,212 1,085 1,054 988

Note: Passenger Density = Daily Passenger-km/Route-km


Shuichi Takashima

Mr Takashima is a doctoral student in economic history at the University of Tokyo from where he

graduated in Japanese history in 1999. He is researching modern city formation and transport,

with special interest in the development of railways.

precipitous, residents of communitiesalong the l ine are s lowly losingenthusiasm for ‘their’ railway and thecompany is sinking into trouble.Some private lines taken over from JNRafter the Sanriku Railway have beenclosed because of similar changes infortunes. One example is the 6.2-kmKuroishi Line formerly operated by KonanRailway. The railway tookover the trackin 1984 without asking for local-government funding. After it becameclear that the low level of ridership wouldnot improve, the company abandonedoperations in 1998.In a similar instance in 1985, the 18-kmline between Shimokita and Ohata innorthernmost Honshu was taken over byShimokita Transportation, a local buscompany, only to be abandoned in 2000.The company has gone back to operatingonly buses.However, there are a few success stories;Abukuma Express assumed control of aline that JNR had planned to link Sendaiand Fukushima but only the Sendai endof the line had been finished. Ridershipincreased after the line was completedto Fukushima and fully electrified. Thenew management is doing its best to turna profit and although not many users ridethe entire line, the cities at each end have

many commuting workers and students.Four other railways that tookover JNRlines in Tohoku are: Akita Inland ThroughRailway in Akita Prefecture ( 94.2-km linefrom Kakunodate to Takanosu); YuriHighland Railway in Akita Prefecture(23-km line from Ugohonjo to Yashima);Yamaga ta Ra i lway in Yamaga taPrefecture (30.5-km line from Akayu toArato); and Aizu Railway in FukushimaPrefecture (57.4-km line from NishiWakamatsu to Aizu Kogen).In the last few years, some privaterailways that were operated exclusivelywith private capital have receivedsupport from local governments. TheKurihara Den ’en Rai lway, whichoperated a 25.7-km line from Ishikoshito Hosokura Mine Park Mae in MiyagiPrefecture, realized that it would not beable to continue independently andt r a n s f e r r e d i t s m a n a g e m e n t t omunicipalities served by the line in 1992.

In an effort to cut costs, diesel railcarshave replaced electric trains since 1995.The Towada Sightseeing Electric Railwayin Aomori Prefecture used profits from itsbus operations to subsidize its non-profitable 14.7-km line from Misawa toTowada-shi. But declining bus ridershipover the last few years induced the localmunicipalities to provide financialassistance for rail operations. However,local governments do not have unlimitedfunds and there are questions about howlong residents of rural areas will toleratespending taxes on railway lines with fewusers. �

Kurihara Den’en Railway’s Series KD95 running onnon-electrified section (Author)

Sanriku Railway’s Series 36 running on Kita Rias Line (Author)

Documents

Shuichi Takashima · 2016. 3. 15. · Yamagata and Akita to terminate at Aomori. The 271.7-km Uetsu main line follows the Sea-of-Japan coast, avoiding the steep inland mountains