Kominato Line

Infobox rail line
name=Kominato Line (小湊鉄道線)


caption=Kiha-200 diesel cars on the Kominato Line.
type=Passenger
start=ja-stalink|Goi
end=ja-stalink|Kazusa-Nakano
station=18
open=1925
owner=
operator=Kominato Railway
linelength=39.1km
gauge=narrow (1067mm)The nihongo|Kominato Line|小湊鉄道線|kominato tetsudō sen is a rail line in Japan, operated by nihongo|Kominato Railway|小湊鐵道|kominato tetsudō, which runs from Goi Station in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture to Kazusa-Nakano Station in Ōtaki, Chiba Prefecture. Although the area this line covers is not so far from Tokyo ( actually JR East Sōbu Line and Uchibō Line through rapid service will bring you to Goi Station, the start station of this line in about an hour from Tokyo Station ), Kominato Line has no double track section nor electrified section. Old type diesel cars manufactured between 1961~1977 runs through the hilly area of Bōsō Peninsula, and it has many antique station buildings along the way. This line is not at all modernized, but the classic rail line brings back old memories, and so one day trips by Kominato Line are somewhat popular among people around Tokyo. Kominato Line trains often appear on the TV screen, too.

History

Kominato Line was named after Kominato Town in Chiba Prefecture (modern-day part of Kamogawa City), a town facing the Pacific and famous as the birthplace of Nichiren. Originally they planned that Kominato Line connects Goi Station to Kominato Town across the hills of Boso Peninsula, but the railway could not finally get to Kominato Town.

On 7 March 1925, the railway from Goi Station to Satomi Station was opend. On 1 September 1926, it was extended to Tsukisaki Station, and by 16 May 1928, the whole way to Kazusa-Nakano Station was opend. By then only 2/3 of the way to Kominato was opend, but they had had difficulty in fund-raising, and fortunately Kominato Line had been connected to Kihara Line* opend by the Railway Ministry at Kazusa-Nakano Station and the construction of trans-peninsula railway route "was" accomplished, so they decided not to extend Kominato Line any more.

*Kihara Line: The rail line from Ōhara Station of Sotobō Line to Kazusa-Nakano Station. It is modern-day Isumi Railway Isumi Line.

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