- Sanyō Railway
The nihongo|Sanyō Railway|山陽鉄道|San'yō-tetsudō was established in 1887 and served as a major railroad company during the
Meiji period inJapan . The railroad was headquartered inKobe , andNakamigawa Hikojirō served as head of the railroad. [cite journal
author=Yui, Tsunehiko |title=The Personality and Career of Hikojiro Nakamigawa, 1887-1901 |journal=The Business History Review |volume=44(1) |date=Spring, 1970 |pages=pp. 39–61]Rail lines
The first rail line opened in 1888. By 1894, the Sanyō Railway had been extended west, along the coast of the
Seto Inland Sea , from Kobe toHiroshima .cite book |author=Kosaikai, Yoshiteru |title=Hiroshima Peace Reader |publisher=Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation |date=2007 |chapter=History of Hiroshima] The railroad was later extended toShimonoseki . TheSanyō Main Line connected with theTōkaidō Main Line in Kobe, and theKyūshū Railway at Moji. In 1904, the 330 mile trip from Kobe to Shimonoseki took 11 hours. [cite book |author=Nippon Yusen Kaisha |title=Handbook of Information for Shippers and Passengers |publisher=Nippon Yusen Kaisha |date=1904] An express train from Kobe to Hiroshima took 8 1/2 hours, travelling 189 miles. [cite book |title=A Handbook for Travellers in Japan: Including the Whole Empire from Yezo to Formosa |author=Chamberlain, Basil Hall ,W. B. Mason |publisher=Kelly & Walsh |date=1899] TheSanyō Shinkansen largely runs parallel to the Sanyō Main Line, with the trip from Shin-Kobe toHiroshima Station now taking under 1 1/2 hours. [cite web |url=http://www.japanrail.com/JR_shinkansen.html |title=Shinkansen |publisher=Japan Railways Group |accessdate=2007-08-19]teamship
Sanyō also operated steamship service, from Shimonoseki to
Busan inKorea . [cite book |title=Encyclopaedia of Ships and Shipping |author=Mason, Herbert B. |date=1908 |publisher=The Shipping Encyclopedia] Sanyō Railway also operated a ferry fromMiyajimaguchi Station , which opened onSeptember 25 ,1897 , toItsukushima (Miyajima).Nationalization
The railroad was nationalized in 1906, under the
Railway Nationalization Act .References
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