Sangi Railway Hokusei Line

Hokusei Line
300px A train bound for Ageki
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
Locale	Mie Prefecture
Termini	Nishi-Kuwana Ageki
Stations	13
Operation
Opened	5 April 1914
Operator(s)	Sangi Railway
Technical
Line length
No. of tracks	1
Track gauge	762 mm (2 ft 6 in)
Electrification	Overhead, 750 V DC
Operating speed

The Sangi Railway Hokusei Line (三岐鉄道北勢線, Sangi Tetsudō Hokusei-sen), commonly known as the Sangi Hokusei Line, is a 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow gauge railway line of the Japanese private railway company Sangi Railway, connecting Nishi-Kuwana Station in Kuwana, Mie with Ageki Station in Inabe, Mie, in Japan. For many years the line was owned by major railway operator Kintetsu but control was transferred to Sangi in April 2003.

The name Hokusei (北勢) means "northern Mie". It is a kanji abbreviation of "north" (北) and "Ise" (伊勢). Ise (as opposed to "Mie") is used in the name because the northern and central parts of present-day Mie Prefecture were called Ise Province during the Edo era before the modern prefecture system was established.

Services

All services are classified "Local" (普通, futsū), stopping at every station, and are wanman driver-only operation. Two services per hour operate during the day, increased to three per hour in the morning and evening peaks.

Stations

Station		Distance (km)	Transfers	Location
Nishi-Kuwana	西桑名	0.0	Kansai Main Line (Kuwana) Kintetsu Nagoya Line (Kuwana) Yōrō Railway Yōrō Line (Kuwana)	Kuwana	Mie Prefecture
Umamichi	馬道	1.1
Nishibessho	西別所	2.0
Rengeji	蓮花寺	3.3
Ariyoshi	在良	4.1
Hoshikawa	星川	5.5
Nanawa	七和	6.9
Anoh	穴太	8.0		Tōin
Tōin	東員	9.7
Ōizumi	大泉	12.4		Inabe
Sohara	楚原	14.4
Ohda	麻生田	18.1
Ageki	阿下喜	20.4

At Kuwana Station, a short walk from Nishi-Kuwana Station, passengers can transfer to the Kansai Main Line, the Kintetsu Nagoya Line, and the Yōrō Line.

History

The section of the line between Ōyamada Station (大山田駅) (present-day Nishi-Kuwana Station) and Sohara was opened on 5 April 1914 by the Hokusei Railway, with services operated using steam haulage. The line was extended to Ageki on 8 July 1931 and electrified at 600 V DC. On 11 February 1944, the line became part of Mie Kotsu (三重交通), and in 1954, the line voltage was increased to 750 V DC.

Kintetsu acquired the line on 1 April 1965, and from 1 April 2003, it was operated by the Sangi Railway.

Narrow gauge

The track gauge is especially narrow. In the early 20th century many of Japan's local railway lines were built using this gauge, however the vast majority of them were widened in the mid 20th century. Today, there are only four 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge train lines in operation in Japan, of which the Hokusei Line is the longest. This rarity makes the Hokusei Line (as well as the other 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge lines) popular with Japanese and other railway enthusiasts.

762 mm gauge railways of Japan

• Sangi Railway: Hokusei Line (this line)
• Yokkaichi Asunarou Railway: Utsube Line (also in northern Mie Prefecture)
• Yokkaichi Asunarou Railway: Hachiōji Line (small line branching off of the Utsube Line)
• Kurobe Gorge Railway (Kurobe, Toyama)

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.